Starcrossed Lovers and Other Bombshells
by nzlouise
Summary: (This is a Co-write with the brilliant elang4, go check her stories out) Inspired by a blooper from the lovely Lauren Graham during Star-crossed Lovers and Other Strangers (S1), instead of Lorelai saying to Luke "that's what I love about you" she mistakenly said "that's why I love you" *sigh* if only that was part of the script, what would have happened? - Viva la vie JavaJunkies
1. Chapter 1

Dean was waiting at the bus stop for Rory to get back from Chilton. She spotted him and smiled as she got off the bus.

They started to walk together to get some coffee.

"So what you doing Friday?" Dean asked.

"Got my grandparents' dinner but then after I was wondering if we could meet up and watch the bonfire? I know it's corny but it's really pretty."

"How about you get out of your grandparents' dinner?" Dean suggested.

"That's not going to happen. The only way I will be able to get out of it is if I'm in hospital." Rory joked.

"What if it was for a special occasion?" Dean said.

"Special occasion?"

"Yeh say like two people's three month anniversary…"

Rory stopped and looked at him. "Wow, it's been three months?"

"Yep!"

"I feel bad that I didn't realise…"

"Don't. So do you think you could get out of dinner? I've got something special planned."

"I'll see what I can do." Rory smiled.

* * *

Rory and Lorelai were back home a little later and Rory came into the kitchen to see her mom with a packet of hamburger mix.

"No." was all Rory said.

"I want to cook!" Lorelai whined.

"You can make soup."

"No I want to really cook! Like on the food Channel. I wanna sauté things and chops things and the BAM, I wanna be the iron chef."

"Fine!" Rory gave in, despite thinking the fact her mom's best friends excluding herself, are professionals in the kitchen and also the fire marshal should be alerted every time she turns on the oven.

"Really?" Lorelai brightened up.

"Yes. I'll even help."

"Yay!" Lorelai beamed. They got up and got out things they needed. "Okay, I need a pen"

"and a fire extinguisher" rory quipped.

"Funny, Funny girl" Lorelai said giving her daughter a playful hit on her arm.

"So why the sudden need to be domestic?" Rory asked.

"I don't know. I'm just in a funky mood. Too much love and stars. It's making me cranky." She replied not fully understanding her crabby mood but her excuse sounded logical enough.

"So I guess you haven't heard from Mr Medina?"

"No."

"Maybe that's why you're cranky?"

"Ok new subject please!" _hmmm maybe?_ Lorelai pondered, _Damn my intelligent daughter for being so attentive._

"Fine. Actually there is a favour I need to ask..." Rory said.

"Uh oh..."

"It's mine and Dean's three month anniversary on Friday and he's got something special planned but I would need to get out of dinner for it."

"Three months wow!" Lorelai said as she thought her daughter is better at this relationship thing than she ever was, _especially at her age, but of course she is, she isn't pregnant and locked away in Ava and Adolph's tower of torture_. "Well good luck calling them!"

"Mom! Please!"

Lorelai sighed. "Fine!"

She got the phone and called her mother ready to grovel for her daughter's happiness. Surprisingly, she said that Rory could miss it, she then tried her luck hoping Emily had taken her happy pills that day but Lorelai was to show up promptly at seven o'clock. Her reaction to Rory's request did make Lorelai wonder if there was an ulterior motive behind this decision considering it is Emily after all. Alas all she could do was wait and find out.

* * *

Lorelai was at the inn, surrounded by couples in love, which were making her cranky, even seeing her best friend necking with Jackson in the kitchen had set her off, then finding Michel of all people whispering sweet nothings to a lady friend via phone call. She was even crankier when she discovered the inn didn't have any coffee left so she went off to Luke's, one of her few constants in her life, her dependant if you will. As she was walking through the square in a glum disposition, a paper Mache star suddenly fell from above just in front of her, jolting her from her thoughts. "Agh!" she cried.

"Oh my god! Are you ok?" A man ran up to her. "That's never happened before."

"Really? How about that…" Lorelai sighed and went into Luke's hoping her elixir of life and flannel man could cheer her up or at least hope he was in his grumpy form so she wasn't alone in the world.

"A paper Mache star just nearly crushed me. How's your day been?" She said going up to the counter.

Luke had seen what just happened through diner window, noticing her spark was absent from her persona today, _god even when she's down she's beautiful_ he thought. "Well it's looking pretty good now. Coffee?"

"Please, and hold the shot of cynicism." Lorelai sighed.

"Why so cheery?"

"I'm just in a mood, I don't know why. Maybe I'm bipolar."

"Yeah I hear that's very big these days" he replied. _Good a joke, she will be fine_ Luke reasons.

They turned around when they heard Taylor and Miss Patty debating how Stars Hollow was actually founded, each theory sounding more ridiculous than the last.

"Urghh can no one talk about anything other than this stupid festival?" She said loudly turning towards the counter again. She then stopped and realised everyone had gone quiet. "That came out louder than I thought, didn't it?"

"Yep." Luke said.

"Yep." Lorelai said and turned round to face them.

"Young lady, this is a festival to celebrate our town." Taylor said.

"I know. I'm sorry Taylor."

"She's bipolar." Luke said.

"Really? But you're so young?" Miss Patty said.

Everyone then resumed their talking and Lorelai turned back to the counter.

"I don't know what is wrong with me. It's a nice festival. People should enjoy it." Lorelai sighed, she ponders for a moment _maybe it's because I haven't had sex lately? Or maybe Rory is right, maybe it is to do with Max, or maybe Chris, or Luke… Luke? That STUPID dream…Where did that come from, I see him every day and he is standing right there… looking very good as always I might add, ok Lorelai stop it!_

"It's a stupid festival based on two crazy people who probably didn't exist to celebrate this even crazier town but were created by rich drunk opportunists who made up the story to make it look good on a poster and make money." Luke said.

Lorelai smiled at this. "You are full of hate and loathing, and I gotta tell you I love it!" Luke loves it even she does that cheeky squint thing with her eyes, it's somehow playful but sexy, _and what else does she love?_ He questions to himself. Going along with the conversation, he leans in closer to her dropping his voice slightly "it's so good to have somebody to share this hate with" sending her a wink with it.

"My Pleasure" and she genuinely smiles at him, _'Oh god he looks so good I could kiss him right now… Woah what? C'mon Lorelai get a grip_ she says to herself. Trying regain composure she calls out to him "Hey Luke can I get a refill fill and since I can rely on you to share my hate with, I was thinking maybe tomorrow, we could plan on despising everyone who says 'Hey, how's it going?'" She smirks.

"You're on." Luke said, _hmmm maybe I could hang out with her at the festival, just so it would cheer her up -_ He said to himself.

"Hey, how's it going?" A voice behind them said.

"Now that's just too easy…" Lorelai joked. She then saw Luke's startled face as he turned around to face a blast from the past.

"Rachel…" He said.

"Rachel? Your Rachel?" Lorelai said surprised.

Luke nodded. Lorelai turned round and looked at the woman.

"You're Rachel?"

"Yep I'm Rachel." Rachel smiled.

"What are you doing here?, not just state side but…here…in stars hollow?" Luke said, _and here is where fate is a bitch_.

"I don't know. I saw a plane going to Hartford and before I knew it I was on it and now here I am." She said coming to sit down at the counter. "You look good."

"Yeh um, you look, um, you, um you look…" Luke stammered.

"He thinks you look good too." Lorelai said, helping him along. "Right?"

"Right." Luke said, _oh god why, what is happening here, the one woman I tried to love only to be rejected – multiple times and the woman I am too scared to admit anything to because she's my best friend_.

"And you do." Oh man, she thought, _Sookie wasn't kidding when she said Elle McPherson good looking_ "I'm Lorelai by the way." Lorelai smiled at her.

"Nice to meet you."

"Oh yeh that's um, Lorelai. She works at the Independence Inn." Luke said almost kicking himself at the same time.

"Run it actually." Lorelai said finding Luke's state weird but cute, _is that all he can say about me?_

"Oh wow, I love that place. You must be very proud of it." Rachel smiled only questioning if Luke wanted her there, _he's acting odd, maybe it has to do with this Lorelai sitting, or the fact I did just show up out of the blue_.

"Thanks. Yeh I am." Lorelai smiled but feeling uncomfortable knowing some of the history between this woman and her Luke… _wait 'her' Luke? God what is up with me lately?_ "Anyway, I better go. I uh… I… I'll probably see you around." She said and then quickly left.

* * *

Lorelai helped Rory get ready for her special date with Dean.

"He thinks you look good too… I run the place… I'll see you around, gah I am such a spaz" Lorelai expressed frustratingly, as if she needed more reason to add to her funk.

"Well you are Lorelai" Rory quipped. Lorelai knew her daughter was trying to diffuse her frustration but it didn't help. "Ow! Okay, I'm still attached to the head."

"Okay, sorry. I'm a little worked up." Lorelai reasoned.

"Mom, it just Luke's ex-girlfriend."

"I know. I just hate that I made myself look so stupid in front of…" she trailed off

"Luke?" questioned Rory "I don't get the big deal it's just Luke and I highly doubt you made yourself look stupid, no more than usual anyhow".

"urghh" scoffed Lorelai "not Luke, I am meaning Rachel, and he's staring at her like she's Miss September and she's looking at him like he's Johnny Depp, and I was just the stammering troll, like a moron, what is wrong with me?!" she rants brushing Rory's hair more and more furiously.

"Ow! Ow! Okay, you are now officially off hair duty. What's going on with you!?"

"I don't know. It's just all this love in the air, you know. I guess I miss having someone, maybe its Max, or your dad or…I don't know" Not exactly ready to admit to her daughter about the Luke factor in this scenario, "and I have just had some change in thoughts or feelings lately that I'm not use to and it's honestly freaking me out a little. I mean there's just been so much going on with your Dad coming home and family stuff" _newly developed feelings about a certain Diner man…_ "and your constant existence…"

"Thanks for the love." Says Rory, cutting in.

"Any time." She retorts back "So I haven't had a lot of time to focus on it and I miss having a guy, you know?"

"I know."

Lorelai sighs, deciding she should tell her daughter about her recent unconscious endeavours, _Geez Freud would have a field day analysing me_. "I had a dream about someone the other night… or should I say someone's"

"Really? Dirty?"

"No, absolutely not. And when you're 21, I'll tell you the real answer. Anyway, it's made me confused and opened things up for me, but then I guess now it has put me in a funk."

"I'm sorry."

"Me too. We could talk about me for years, and believe me, we will. But let's focus on you, the lady of the evening. No hooker reference intended."

"Glad to hear it."

As Rory was waiting for dean, Lane arrived to say hi.

"I need to stop hanging out with you. You make my life look too uncool and sad!" Lane joked.

"Are you going to the festival?"

"Oh yes. My mom set me up again." Lane said.

"Uh no..." Lorelai said coming in, _maybe Mrs Kim could set me up?_ she thought. "Yep plus his in-laws are coming." Lane said _…okay perhaps not, you're better than that Lorelai_.

A car then honked. "That's Dean. I want to hear all about it after, ok?" Rory smiled at her friend.

"Sure, have a good time." Lane smiled.

"Bye!" She smiled at her. She then hugged her mom. "Bye mom!"

"Bye hon! Have fun!"

They watched her leave and then Lane looked up at Lorelai. "So I guess I can't hang out with you tonight?"

"Sorry. Not unless you want to come to Hartford!" Lorelai said.

Lane sighed. "Maybe you could run over me on your way? Maybe my mom won't make me go if I'm in hospital?"

"How about you run over me then I'll run over you." Lorelai smiled.

* * *

Reluctantly as always, Lorelai drove to Hartford, and as always, Lorelai found herself having a miserable time at her parents' house. Her mom had invited a man over, Chase Bradford, to try and set her up. Lorelai insisted she could get her own men though reflecting on her thoughts she had only a few hours ago the coincidence had hit her, she was definitely not this desperate. He was the most boring man she had ever met. Luckily, she saw that her dad thought the same thing, which she found comforting and curious considering insurance is almost as boring as… well whatever Chase did.

"Why don't you and Chase retire to the living room for brandy as I help wash up?" Emily said.

"Um…." Lorelai said.

"That sounds lovely, shall we?" Chase smiled creepily.

"Oh um…sure…but I need to freshen up first…I'll uh…meet you in the living room" Lorelai said making her escape upstairs, thankfully her vivacious past and winning personality had allowed her to be a pro at this sort of thing.

A few minutes later, she was escaping through her bedroom window as Richard came in. "Lorelai, your mother…." He started saying but stopped when he saw the position she was in and what she was obviously about to do.

"Hi Daddy…" Lorelai said sheepishly like she was 15 years old again. "Look I know we fought last week and I'm really sorry that you think I'm such a disappointment but please please don't make me go back down there, because that guy is boring!" She said.

"Emily she's not up here!" Richard called.

Lorelai smiled. "Thank you daddy." She said before disappearing.

* * *

Back at the festival, Rachel was taking lots of photos before sitting down next to Luke on a bench.

"You getting some good stuff?" He asked.

"Yeh, it's beautiful, the firelight really changes people ya know, makes them seem happier, freer, all troubles of the world completely gone." She smiled.

"Yeah that and the founders day party punch" Rachel chuckled, they sat in silence for a moment before Luke had to finally ask "What are you really doing here? In Stars hollow?"

Rachel sighed. "I don't know. All I know is that I missed you and I wanted to see you. I don't know what else to say. Are you not happy to see me?"

Luke smiled a little at her "no no I mean I am, but this is becoming a habit of yours, so I guess forgive me for being a little guarded about it, but yes I am happy to see you."

She simply smiles at him. "So since we're both being blunt, what's the deal with Lorelai?"

"What are you talking about?" He asks wondering where this is going.

"I'm talking about Lorelai, the lady who runs the inn, the one you've told me absolutely nothing about, and been very careful to leave out of every story, anecdote, or gossip about the town."

"There is no deal with Lorelai. We're friends." He insists.

"For now?"

"Yes." _Well hopefully for just now_ , he admits quietly.

"And in the future?"

"Well, Lorelai is, she's just uh…I don't know. I mean, at time it seems like, I don't know." Luke explains only stumbling through his words, on the inside he's says _oh who am I kidding, she's probably the only woman I want to spend the rest of my life with, not that I have a chance in hell_.

Rachel seemed satisfied for the time being of his vague answer, "I'm going to go get some punch." She said.

"That stuff will kill you."

Rachel laughed. "Some things never change."

Luke watched her go and then suddenly Lorelai joined him. "Hi." She said.

"Hey. Aren't you meant to be in Hartford?" He asked.

"Yep."

"What happened?"

"I climbed out the window."

"Oh." He said somewhat amused.

"Oh? That's it? You're not going to ask why?"

"Nope."

"Hmph, that's why I love you." Lorelai said. She then froze. _Had I really just said that?_


	2. Chapter 2

" _ **I climbed out the window."**_

" _ **Oh." He said somewhat amused.**_

" _ **Oh? That's it? You're not going to ask why?"**_

" _ **Nope."**_

" _ **Hmph, that's why I love you." Lorelai said. She then froze. Had I really just said that?...**_

"What?" Luke said shocked. _Had she really just said that?_

"Uh… I mean… Uh… Nothing. I've got to go." Lorelai said feeling her cheeks go red and got up and rushed away.

Luke saw her getting flustered telling him it wasn't just a joke or even meant for friends, this was weird, this wasn't typical everyday Lorelai. He watched her rush off, before he had any idea what he was doing he started to chase after her.

Luke caught up with her on the bridge, spotting her having an internal crisis. "Lorelai wait!"

Lorelai turned round. "Oh Luke, uh…I've got to get home." Trying to avoid anything to do with whatever just happened.

"Did you mean it?" he said hoping she did.

"I don't know." Lorelai admitted. "I said it before I knew what I was saying…"

"Lorelai… just… just be honest with me here, did you mean it like you love me as your friend, the guy who pours your coffee, or... or… something else"

"I honestly don't know Luke, maybe… something else" she mumbled, looking at the ground trying so hard not to make eye contact with him.

"Maybe something else…" Luke repeated trying to understand the situation himself.

"I just have a lot going through my head, of so much, you know me, it never stops, and I haven't had a good time with the world of men lately and… uh… there's Max and Chris and you slipped in there… what do I mean slipped, you're always in there, I see you every day, you feed me and give me my elixir, fix my house, just always there for me, and now I am ranting, and honestly freaking out, and you should really stop me before I say more stupid things, because really I can just go on and on you know me, well of course you do we see each other every day and have for the last 5 years and of course feelings are gonna develop because you're my best friend bar Rory and Sookie except they aren't as good looking as you and oh god I really need to just lie down in this grave I have dug, alive preferably, smothered in dirt because now you think I am crazy, well who am I kidding I kind of am and just you know –"

"LORELAI!" Luke said finally getting her to stop "I just want to know, that's all, I just wanted to know if you meant it, if not the big L word but some kind of feelings, in the lines of romantic ones I mean".

"Does it really matter Luke? I can barely control my mouth sometimes, it's amazing I don't work on a sailing boat"

"Lorelai, please, please just answer me… tell me I am not alone in this" he said desperately

"Alone in what?"

"…in these feelings"

"You… you mean you have feelings for me?"

"YES!" gosh that actually felt a little good for him to finally admit, but he was worried about her reaction.

"Well… I think… maybe I do" this made Luke smile, his heart warming on this inside. "but – it's not as easy as that for me, I need to sort out things with Max and stuff and I really really need to talk to Rory or Sookie and just think, clear my head for once" Lorelai said frustrated and with that she rushed off home leaving Luke standing alone in the dark, he thought to himself _OK she's needs to think then I will give her time to think, but this is finally my chance, well I think it's my chance… please god let this be my chance_.

* * *

Back at home, she was sat on the sofa, evaluating everything that happened so far that evening and had to hash something things out so with the phone in her hand, she dialed a number.

" _ **Hi, you've reached Max Medina. I'm not here right now so leave a message at the beep and I'll get back to you. Thanks."**_ Lorelai sighed, she wasn't exactly sure why she was calling him, maybe it was closure or maybe it was something else. She was debating about calling another number but she was interrupted by the front door opening and Rory coming in, looking very upset. She immediately forgot everything as she looked at her daughter. "Rory?" She said.

"We broke up…" Rory said trying exceptionally hard not to show any other emotion she may had been feeling.

"Aw hon…" Lorelai said softly, getting up from the sofa and giving her a hug. "What happened?"

"We just broke up, that's it." Rory said going towards her room, gathering every piece of Dean Memorabilia, everything that reminded her of him.

"That can't just be it!" Lorelai states "This is Dean! The person who calls you like 20 times a day, who probably sleep talks your name and if it was anyone else I would call someone to take the stalker away."

"Yeah well people change." Rory said shoving the box to her mom. "Hide this, trash it, do whatever so I don't have to see it, I'm really tired mom. I just want to go to sleep."

"Um OK. I'll see you in the morning then." Lorelai said. She was worried, clearly something more had happened, she couldn't help think the worse, but that isn't dean, she also knew this wasn't the right time to bring up what had happened between her and Luke.

* * *

The next day, Rory forced Lorelai to wake up insanely early at the unholy hour of 6am… on a SATURDAY! Rory wanted breakfast, and breakfast meant Luke's. Lorelai was nervous to go but she knew Rory needed a Luke's fix but she didn't want her to think something was up, she needed Rory to think about other things, like wallowing, or at least consider it. They started walking towards Luke when Rory stopped.

"Rory?"

"We can't go that way." Rory said.

After much discussion of which way they could go, they ended up going a long way, lurking through an alley and entering Luke's from the back entrance.

"Wow!" Lorelai said, looking around at all the people. "I officially don't recognize any of these people."

"It's the 6am crowd." Rory said.

Suddenly, Rachel then appeared making Lorelai feel awkward.

"Hi Lorelai!" She said brightly obviously not noticing the awkwardness. "Coffee as you wait?"

"Sure thanks. So are you… are you gonna be hanging around for a while then?" Lorelai said, surprising herself hoping Rachel would say no, _maybe these feelings for Luke are completely real and not my current pathetic level of desperation AKA one level away from buying my first cat_.

"Yeah, I hope so, I mean I have kind of missed having a place to call home, you know?"

"Yeah, I do actually" and she truly did, stars hallow was the first place she felt like she belonged. "Oh Rachel, this is my daughter Rory."

"Nice to meet you." Rachel smiled at her, _she has a daughter? Who is clearly a teenager? And no-jam-hands-Luke is okay with that?_

"You too." Rory said back. "Oh mom, look there's a table."

"Go ahead, I'll be right with you!" Rachel said.

Lorelai looked round and couldn't see Luke which was a bit of a relief _, please be out at a meeting, or asleep or staying in the kitchen_ she internally begged.

"Everyone knows!" Rory said looking round.

That made Lorelai's heart jump a bit, _know about me and Luke last night, what how did they find out?_ Then she suddenly realized she was talking about her break up with Dean. "Hon, its 6am. I doubt people have found out." Lorelai said.

"They know. Everyone knows." She said glumly.

Lorelai sighed and went up to the counter to order food just as Luke appeared from upstairs. "Oh….hi…good morning sleeping beauty" She said awkwardly, _man he looks extra good today, did he shave? Yup he did, I can smell the aftershave I bought him_.

"Hi…" Luke answered. "Um I didn't expect you this early…" _it is Saturday and this is Lorelai after all, maybe she didn't sleep?_ _Maybe her decision was too easy, she didn't mean it did she._

"Yeah, um, Rory needs a Luke's fix. Dean broke up with her yesterday." Lorelai said covertly.

"What? Why? I knew that kid was trouble! Does he think he will get better than Rory?" Luke ranted in an angry whisper, _who would ever dump a Gilmore girl! Rory is the sweetest kid alive, I would do anything for her, wait until I see that dean!_

"Shhhhh!" Lorelai said. "Rory doesn't want everyone knowing. She's paranoid enough as it is. Can you do her some of the Rory pancakes?"

"Sure and I'll even add whipped cream to them."

"Thanks Luke." Lorelai smiled, forgetting the awkwardness. It was nice how much Luke cared about Rory.

"Um yeah I'll bring them over." Luke said.

"OK…" Lorelai said starting to walk away.

"Oh wait Lorelai?"

"Yeah"

 _Man she was beautiful, even before 7am_ "I uh… just wanted…"

"Just wanted what?" Lorelai prompted, _please don't ask about last night I am not ready for what happened last night._

"Nothing… I'll ask later, I will just get your food ready" he said, letting her go back to her table.

Rachel had witnessed basically all of this exchange from afar and was curious, she walked up to him and asked "What was that all about?"

"Oh um, Rory and her boyfriend broke up last night…" Luke said. "Lorelai was just asking for some of my special pancakes for her, we both know they cheer her up, even just a little bit, when she was little she would have them when one of her favorite characters in her books died, or she scraped her knees, or one time it was when her pet caterpillar died."

"Oh right. Sounds like you've known them for a while." Rachel said and went off to do get some more orders but her thoughts were clouded with Luke having what sounded like a surrogate daughter or niece type of thing for the past however many years, she realized she must have been gone longer than she thought, this Luke hanging out with a little girl now teenager didn't sound like the Luke she left all those years ago.

As Luke was behind the counter, he saw Dean walking towards the diner. He went outside.

"Stop right there. Where are you going?"

"To get coffee."

"Oh no you don't."

"What?"

"You're not going in there."

"Are you kidding?" Dean said confused.

"Does this face look like I'm kidding?"

"Well no, but that's nothing new!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well you're not exactly the Cheshire cat." Dean said and attempted to get past Luke but he stopped him and they started fighting.

Rachel was at the counter when she saw this. She then saw Lorelai and Rory look up and run outside and Lorelai attempted to stop the fight and succeeded. _What on earth is going on? Why is Luke fighting some kid?_ She thought. _Could that be the boyfriend but then why would Luke fight the boyfriend? Wow he must seriously love Rory to fight the boy who broke her heart, as if he was her dad, hmm where is her dad?_ She continued watching and saw Lorelai pushing Luke towards the diner and then she and Rory walked off down the street.

* * *

Lorelai went home while Rory went to Lane's for a bit. She was thinking about trying to call max again, not getting a chance to the previous night. As she headed for the phone, it started to ring giving her a fright. She answered not knowing who or what to expect, could it be Luke? Could it be Max? "Hello" she answered

"Lorelai Gilmore!"

Nope just the she-devil herself.

"Mom?"

"Yes Lorelai it's your mother, how dare you skip out of dinner without saying anything, I was so humiliated in front of Chase"

"Oh were you now, humiliated huh? Gee I wonder how that feels"

"Oh don't be smart with me missy, yes humiliated, we waited in the living room for you to return for a while, only to find your bedroom empty with the window open!"

"Well how do you think I feel, having my mother set me up with the world's most dull uninteresting mind-numbing guy ever! Without asking by the way"

"Oh please he wasn't that bad"

"But you agree he was bad at some degree… Mom…" Lorelai sighed "even dad thought he was boring, and dad works in insurance!"

"That is beside the point, he is nice and accomplished and you left him here like he was the high school mascot, also not saying proper goodbyes is extremely rude, especially when we have a deal, you are here for dinner you do not skip out by shimmying down the drain pipe"

Lorelai was growing tired of this conversation with her mother, more than usual, it was drawing attention away from her thoughts of Luke and the conversation last night and her worrying of Rory handling things not in a normal manner. "Mother listen, I do not need you interfering with my life, I do not need you setting me up, I am perfectly capable with getting my own dates, believe me, and I stuck to our deal, I came for dinner, I drank some alcohol, answered your questions about my week, what I didn't ask for was my mother playing Yente for me as if we were stuck in olden times, tell me, how much is my dowry worth?"

"Oh Lorelai stop being so dramatic, I was just trying to help, you don't tell me anything to do with your love life, I am merely concerned for my daughters happiness, you just turned 33 you aren't getting any younger."

"yes thank you for reminding me, and also its 2001, I do not need a man to make me happy, I am happy, why don't you understand that, now I have to go an take an Advil, I'll see you Friday, goodbye." _GAAAAHH_ she internally screamed, her mother had put her in a mood but seeing as she was already holding the phone she thought why not and dialed the familiar number again.

"Hello?" A voice answered this time round.

"Max?" Lorelai said.

"Lorelai?" He said surprised but pleased.

"Yeah um I think we need to talk..." She said.

"Yeah I think so too..."

"I don't think we would work. I'm sorry. You're Rory's teacher. It's too complicated."

"Oh." Max said disappointed. "That didn't bother you before though?"

"I know but I just don't think it would work. Sorry." She said and then quickly hung up. She felt bad. She had really liked Max but she needed to get her head straight first, she needed to sort what these feelings with Luke are about first.

* * *

Rory arrived back about half an hour later and she seemed a bit happier which Lorelai was glad about. Rory announced she had been invited to a party at one of the Chilton girls houses in Hartford, she decided to go despite it being against Lorelai's better judgment, Lorelai desperately wanted her to wallow.

Rory interrupted her thoughts concerning her daughter, "Mom, I never asked how dinner was yesterday. I'm sorry I wasn't there." Rory said sitting down next to her mom on the sofa.

"Oh it was the usual. Figured out why you got out of it so easily, my mother set me up on a very boring date and then I climbed out the window and escaped." She said.

Rory chuckled. "Sounds eventful!"

"Yep it was just that…" Lorelai said, thinking about how the evening ended _eventful indeed_.

* * *

Later that evening, Rory had gone off to Madeline's party, dragging lane along with her. Meanwhile back in stars hollow Lorelai had the house to herself, it felt too quiet, and she felt too lonely in her own world. She needed to finally make some decisions, well actually she needed a proper conversation with a certain diner man, praying that whatever outcome wouldn't compromise their friendship, he is her best friend she needs him, and well judging by what she has seen of his life, he probably needs her as well. _But he has Rachel now…until she decides to leave again anyhow_ she thought. The quietness in her house began to irritate her, she figured a walk might do her well to clear her head and think of things to say to Luke. She didn't want to bug Sookie while she and Jackson were on a date, and Babette went to watch Morey play at a gig in Woodbridge, also at this time in Stars hollow, most of the town is wrapped up in bed by now.

Before she knew it her body had betrayed her and she was inside the diner, _well now is as good as any other time_ she thought. Rachel was downstairs cleaning her camera equipment.

"Oh hey Rachel, quiet night? Getting some of that scandalous action?"

"Hey Lorelai, yeah, you know the Stars Hollow life, but the fairy lights spoke to me this evening so I couldn't help it, actually I was about to close if you wanted the last cup of coffee?"

"Oh actually I need to talk to Luke, so maybe after, is he around?"

"Uh yeah he's upstairs, I told to him just relax, and let me handle down here as a thanks for putting up with me and turning his place into my studio" she says with a slight giggle.

"Right right, you sure love your camera, well I'm just gonna…" stopping her sentence but nodding her head towards the stairs.

"Yeah sure go ahead" Rachel replied wondering what's that about.

Lorelai headed upstairs to the one bedroom apartment, knocking on door, holding her breath anticipating what's to happen next, she wasn't sure how long she had with Rachel staying there and all, but she felt she was somewhat ready and needed to talk now before she chickened out.

"Lorelai… Hi" Luke said when he opened the door, genuinely surprised to see her there

"Hey… uh… can I come in?"


	3. Chapter 3

_**Lorelai headed upstairs to the one bedroom apartment, knocking on door, holding her breath anticipating what's to happen next, she wasn't sure how long she had with Rachel staying there and all, but she felt she was somewhat ready and needed to talk now before she chickened out.**_

" _ **Lorelai… Hi" Luke said when he opened the door, genuinely surprised to see her there**_

" _ **Hey… uh… can I come in?"**_

"oh, Yeah sure" he said stepping out of the way letting her in. "Do you want a Coffee? Or beer maybe?"

"Beer is good" she replied, alcohol was what she needed for what she was trying to get the courage to say.

Luke went to his fridge and got two beers out and handed one to Lorelai. "So do you wanna sit?" he asked gesturing towards the white leather couch, she just nodded and they sat down. he noticed how odd she was acting, it wasn't Lorelai, she was nervous, almost frightened infact, he knew it had something to do with the previous night, like an internal battle with her heart and her mind, he so desperately wanted to ask about it but he couldn't push her, she will talk about it in her own time. "So how's Rory doing?" he asked diffusing the awkwardness

Lorelai had to smile at that, allowing her ease just a little. _He always thinks about Rory._ "I don't know. She won't talk about it at all. I can't even get any details. She's gone to a Chilton party tonight though with Lane." She said.

"Really?" that doesn't sound like Rory"

"Exactly what worries me" _He just knows us so well, almost too well._

"I'm sure she will talk when she is ready"

"Yeah I know I just am afraid if I push her or something, like if this is the first signs of her acting out in teenaged angst, I don't want it to be over a boy like Dean"

"- never liked that guy" Luke interjected

"Oh no kidding, I had no idea from what I saw this morning" she replied sarcastically. _This was a little more like it_ Luke thought, seeing them banter and joke, they easily felt a little more relaxed talking about Rory's love life instead of their own.

"Yeah well I just didn't like to see my… uhh… y…your little girl heart broken and depressed, and it was caused by him, he wasn't good enough for her" Luke admitted hoping she didn't catch him falter. But she did, and it warmed her heart immensely, _He loves Rory as if she was his own, he would make a great dad one day, hell he already is a better dad to Rory than Chris is, he didn't think dean was good enough even if he was well mannered, but maybe to Luke no one will be good enough for her._ She also wondered if he thought anyone was good enough for herself alos. She couldn't say any words to his last comment so she just smiled at him, putting her hand on his as a sign of appreciation, before taking another sip of beer. Luke's heart jumped with just this simple gesture and the silence grew once again, so he felt the need to press on.

"Sooo…what's up?" He asked nervously.

"uh nothing… what do you mean?"

"you came here remember"

"Oh right, yeah, I needed out of the house and I went for a walk and thought of visiting someone but you know people are busy, they all have someone, their person… and I was just lost in my own mind, because you know it's not exactly hard and I guess my body went into autopilot and next thing I know I'm standing in the diner" she rambled. He couldn't help smile when she did that.

"Ok let me ask again, what's up? Why did you need out of the house?"

"It was just too quiet" she said, but he didn't quite believe her, he just gave her a look. "I um… broke up… with max". _Why is this hard to say?_

"Oh?" he asked waiting for her to continue.

"Um yeah... I told him I didn't think it was going to work." She said.

"Yeah? Is that what you really think?" Luke said hopefully.

"I don't know though, my mind's so messed up at the moment. I mean I really liked Max and I know you have Rachel but I was sitting at home tonight and all I could think about was you, not him just you, actually most of the day I thought about you, well switching between you and Rory. And before I knew it, I was here…" She rambled.

"I'm glad you came." Luke said.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." He confirmed

"I just don't know what to think though. Luke, you've been my best friend for what? 5 years now. I don't want that be ruined if anything were to happen...It's not that I don't want to try, I guess what I am saying is I am afraid, I have had an embarrassing amount of relationships gone bad and I think it's my fault but like I said if anything were to go wrong, I could lose you and I don't think I could quite live without you…" Lorelai said saying that last part a little slower to get it to sink in, more for herself than him.

Luke nodded knowing how important her independence is to her and for her to admit something like that is astronomical. "Since we're being completely honest, I think that's what has been holding me back from telling you or making a move… also the fact that I have been afraid too" He said looking her in the eye "that you would reject me, I never thought I could have a chance, that you would think about me in this way at all, and then you said what you said last night, and… I thought maybe just maybe, you know… its stupid." He said trailing off

"Luke, it's not stupid, definitely not stupid, you have always been there for me and Rory, heck I was just thinking before what a great dad you would be one day, that you kind of already are to Rory, you basically just said you consider her family."

"Oh you caught that did you?"

Lorelai just smiled at him "What I am saying, is I can always count on you. But what if we do this and it all goes wrong? I don't have a great track record with men. I can't lose you. You mean too much."

"I get yah, and same goes for me too, I couldn't lose you either" he replied. They both sat in silence once again polishing off their beers. "So… where do we go from here?"

"hmm well obviously we need to talk a little more first… but I am gonna need something stronger to help, got any tequila?"

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Chilton party, Rory had to make idle chit chat with Paris after Louise and Madeline went to explore the anatomy of some guys and Lane found the only Korean at party and had asked her to dance with him. She had witnessed a very public break up between Tristan and Summer, and she couldn't help sympathise knowing how Tristan felt. Soon though, Paris left leaving Rory alone at the party. She looked around her and felt out of place, she wondered if Lane needed her to feign sick yet but she didn't. She didn't know anyone not really, the faces all blurred together, people look different outside the walls of the set of cruel intentions. She sighed and went to try and find a quieter room where she could sit and read. She opened a door to the room which had a piano in but stopped when she saw who was sat at it.

"Oh. Sorry." She said.

"It's fine." Tristan said looking up.

"I'm sorry about Summer." She said. He may be a jerk to her but she did actually feel a bit sorry for him.

"I don't want to talk about Summer." Tristan said.

"Oh ok. How did you do on the biology test?"

"What?"

"The biology test. It was hard right? I only got a B+" She asked going to sit down next to him on the piano stool.

"Um yeah it was hard." He said bemused. "Why are you talking about biology?"

"Because you said you didn't want to talk about Summer."

"Admit it you loved it didn't you? You loved seeing me publically humiliated and crushed right? It's what I deserve right?"

"No not really, you can be a jerk but no one deserves that kind of treatment"

He looks at her seeing she genuinely meant it, _she's really pretty_ he thought. "So where's your boyfriend tonight?"

"he's not my boyfriend…anymore, he broke up with me" it hurt her to say that.

"well he's an idiot, do you think you guys will get back together?" he asked _who would let this girl get away from him._

"hmm, I don't know I don't think so" she said, they sat in the quiet for a moment before Tristan began to speak again.

"Hey, I'm sorry for giving you such a hard time" he said apologetically

"Oh that's ok." She said in a casual demeanor _he's really apologizing?_

"It is?"

"Well no, but you're sad." _We're both sad_ they each thought.

"Yeah well. I am sorry." Repeating himself.

"I accept your apology." She said giving him a small smile

"Oh man, it's a great party huh?"

"Yeah not bad. It gave me a chance to catch up on my reading."

"You're very odd." Tristan chuckled.

"Thank you." Rory smiled.

Before she knew it, Tristan had leant forward and they were kissing. It wasn't bad, it was nice, good even, but she was conflicted thinking _was he only doing this because they had only each other at the time, do I seem easy or the rebound girl?_ After a few seconds though, Rory pulled back and she couldn't help the tears that fell down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry. Did I do something wrong?" He attempted to wipe a tear away with his thumb.

"No it's not you."

"Then what is it? I meant to do that, not just because we're both sad, I've wanted to do that for a while now"

"It's fine" she said sniffing, "I…I just have to go." Rory stammered and got up and ran out the room. She grabbed her coat and went on the dancefloor to find Lane.

"Are you ok?" Lane asked spotting her with tears down her face.

"I need to go." Rory said.

"Sure, let's go." Lane said, after telling Henry her last name.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at Luke's apartment, they had moved on from the beer and into the tequila.

"Mmm this is good tequila" said Lorelai.

"Yeah Caesar brought it back from his last trip to Mexico, so I guess it's the real deal" said Luke.

Lorelai nodded her head, mentally deciding to dive straight in "so what do we do now? About this about us?"

"What do you want?" He asked.

"Luke, I've already said I'm not sure, but I broke up with Max so maybe that's a sign… or an indication, I don't know"

"Right, yeah…. A sign" _maybe it is, I hope it is_ he thought.

"Oh please don't go all monosyllabic man on me now" she said with a smile.

"Lorelai…" he said turning to face her _god she's beautiful,_ "If you are certain this is what you want then I'm in, maybe you need more time to think, it's only been 24 hours, but I don't need time to think I know what I want." He said with confidence, _I only want you, ever since that damn first day_.

"Oh wow" she breathed out, noticing a spark in his eyes, "b…but what about Rachel?"

"Rachel and I aren't together" He saw the confused look on her face and continued to explain "She just showed up one night and I decided to let her stay as an old friend, I've been sleeping on the couch, whilst she took the bed and turned the apartment into her dark room. Listen we may have been more than friends years ago, but it's just that, it was years ago, she's up and left before she will do it again, at this point in my life I am content only being friends with her."

"Speaking of Rachel, I should probably get going. She's only downstairs and it's getting late." Lorelai said, starting to get up.

"Um ok…but you will think about it a bit more?" Luke said awkwardly not really wanting her to leave.

"Yeah… but one thing first"

"What's that?" he asked with curiosity. Neither could tell there was a vibe penetrating the room or that they may have had too much tequila, but a change had swept over them.

She took a breath a stepped closer putting her hands on his shoulders, "you have to promise… promise me, that whatever happens, if something were to go wrong, it doesn't work out or whatever, that we stay friends, we don't become awkward strangers, because like I said I don't think I could live without you… well not your coffee anyway" she said, saying the last part jokingly.

He chuckled at that, but then looked her straight in the eyes "Lorelai, I promise, I actually can't picture my day to day life without your fast talking and coffee addiction"

"Well…" letting the attraction come between them, "that's good then" she said, they were so close, they could now feel each other's breaths. The silence overwhelmed them and they looked straight into each other's eyes, letting gravity pull them closer and closer till they felt each other's lips on one another's, eyes closed, sensing the electricity run through them and heart beats quicken. Lorelai reached up cupping Luke's cheek not daring to break apart, only to deepen the kiss with her tongue, and Luke responded just as equally, whilst running his hand through her long curly hair.

They were then suddenly interrupted by the apartment door opening though. "Oh. Sorry…" Rachel said awkwardly. _I so knew something was going on between them_ she thought.

They immediately pulled away from each other. Lorelai quickly gathered herself and her things. "I'm sorry. I should go." She said and rushed past Rachel without really looking at her, clambering down the stairs, through the diner, as fast as she could go. Thoughts were rushing through her head. _Did that really just happen? Did Luke and I really just kiss? And Rachel walked in on us. Oh my god, this is doesn't seem good! I know Luke said they aren't together but does Rachel know that? Oh man Rachel was nice to me and I repaid her by doing this. It was a good kiss though. Like a really good kiss! Do I really like Luke in that way? I hope this would clear things up._

She got home more quickly than she realized but then again she was lost in thought the entire time, letting herself in, still thinking about everything that just had happened. She went into the living room and stopped at the sight before her.

"Rory?" She said concerned, seeing her crying daughter sat on the sofa with tubs of ice cream.

"I'm ready to wallow now." Rory said in a weak voice.

"Oh Rory…" Lorelai said and went and sat down next to her, placing a pillow on her lap, pulling rory down on the pillow and just held her as she cried. Thoughts of what just had happened were put aside for the moment, she was only concerned for her daughter.

After a few minutes of tears, she calmed down a bit. "Tristan and I… kissed at the party." Rory sniffed.

"Wow. Ok. Tristan, as in bible boy Tristan? As in the guy you hate?" Lorelai said.

Rory chuckled. "Yeah. He had a really public break up at the party and I felt sorry for him. I was looking for somewhere quiet to read and I found him in one of the rooms. We started talking and then it just happened, I mean he kissed me but I didn't stop, we were just both there sad and alone. I feel so stupid. I didn't even stop to talk afterwards. I just ran. He probably thinks I am even more of Mary now" She rambled.

"Was it at least a nice kiss?" Lorelai asked switching into best friend mode

"Yeah I guess so, he didn't kiss me like he was Beethoven the dog"

"So he doesn't have saliva issues, that's good to know but he's still been a jerk to you"

"Oh actually he apologized for that, and I think he honestly meant it, like he had turned off the dumb jock act and I got to see a bit of who he is"

"Oh right, well as long as you're okay with that, but I do understand why you ran off, considering everything that had happened"

"Yeah it's been a long, tiring, weird sequence of events today hasn't it"

"Yeah it has" _maybe I should tell her, it might take her mind off of things_ , "I mean it's not just you who had a weird night…" Lorelai chuckled.

"Huh?" Rory asked looking up at her curiously.

Lorelai sighed. "Well kid, there's been so much going on, I haven't told you everything, but… well long story short… Luke and I… we… we kissed." _Please don't freak out please don't freak out._

"What? When? How?" Rory quickly asked shocked.

"Oh, and then Rachel walked in on us." Lorelai said.

"Wow." Rory said dumbfounded. "Tell me everything!" she demanded.

* * *

Back at the apartment after Lorelai had suddenly rushed out, Luke saw Rachel standing in the same spot looking at him for answers, but he simply just put his head in his hands.

"Uh, Luke? What is going on" Rachel questioned

"Rachel, I…" He started.

"- I think we need to talk" she said cutting him off.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Back at the apartment after Lorelai had suddenly rushed out, Luke saw Rachel standing in the same spot looking at him for answers, but he simply just put his head in his hands.**_

" _ **Uh, Luke? What is going on" Rachel questioned**_

" _ **Rachel, I…" He started.**_

" _ **\- I think we need to talk" she said cutting him off.**_

"I'm so sorry Rachel. I don't know what to say…." Luke said looking ashamed. "But… I mean… we weren't really…"

"I know, Luke, it's ok. I knew there was something between you two." Rachel said softly.

"You did?"

"Yeah, it's quite obvious, and I am still finding it hard to believe that that was your first kiss, it was wasn't it?"

Luke looked up and just nodded, _it was an amazing kiss_. "It shouldn't have happened though…not before we've had a chance to talk things out." He said lamely.

"Luke, I can tell you love her. I had my chance with you and I blew it, I know that, and despite everything, you're my oldest friend, I just want you to be happy." Rachel reassured him.

"It still shouldn't have happened." Luke said. "I don't cheat. I hate people who cheat." He ranted.

"Luke!" she yelled to get his attention "We aren't in a relationship so you didn't really cheat. You are sleeping the sofa while I took your bed, besides I didn't come back here for that reason, I just came back because it was time, if that makes sense." Rachel said. "I'm happy for you. Honestly, I can tell this is what you want." She smiled.

Luke got up and smiled back. "Thank you. I just don't know if it's going to happen though. Lorelai, she's…"

"She loves you and she will realize it." Rachel said cutting him off.

"Actually that's kind of how this started" Rachel looked puzzled so Luke needed to explain what happened at the festival with Lorelai's bombshell slip up, while Rachel was drinking the punch.

"Well that's the hard part done, it's out there, she can't take it back, and actually I hope she doesn't take it back." She confessed

Luke had to chuckle at that, "yeah neither do I". He always knew Rachel was a cool woman with a chill attitude, I mean here is his high school sweetheart telling him she wants him and Lorelai to be together, how many other women would do that?.

"So that's it then, I guess, but Luke if she doesn't man up soon and face the facts that even a blind person could see, then you need to go to her. But in the meantime, I think it would be best if I left, I don't mean stars hollow because I meant what I said, I miss having a place to call home, a base really, I still love my job so I'll still travel a lot. So I'll get a room at the inn and try to find a place until my next assignment starts, if it's OK with Lorelai of course. I like this town, it's one of a kind, so we could still see each other as friends, maybe I could be friends with Lorelai too, I mean, if that's alright with you?"

"Yeah it's fine with me." Luke said.

Rachel nodded and gathered most of her things up which she hadn't really unpacked anyway, leaving most of the photos she developed since they were still drying out and went towards the door. She paused and look back at him "Hey Luke?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you love her?" she asked hesitantly

This took him by surprise, "I'm pretty sure I do, yeah"

"That's good I'm glad… who knew old butch still had that ability" she said which made him laugh. Rachel was genuinely glad for him, with everything he has had to deal with in his past including her leaving, it was nice knowing he hadn't closed off completely.

"Hey Rachel?" Luke said.

Rachel turned round. "Yeah?"

"Thanks." Luke smiled.

Rachel smiled back. "No worries, so I'll see you around Luke."

* * *

Back at the Crap Shack, Rory and Lorelai were sat on the sofa.

"Mom, tell me everything! What, when, how?" Rory said still shocked by her mom's confession.

Lorelai sighed. "Well, the night of the firelight festival, I escaped my parents' house and came back to see the bonfire and found Luke sat on a bench alone so I decided to join him. We were talking, you know like how Luke and I do, and something just sort of slipped out." Rory look at her mystified but obviously wanted more so Lorelai pushed on "So…what I meant to say or was gonna say was that's what's I love about you, but I actually accidentally maybe deep down meant it sort of said that's… why I love you." She said drawing out those last words, and Rory's mouth was stuck in an O-shape, which Lorelai then tapped her jaw shut. "But then I quickly realized what I had said and I froze up and then ran."

Rory nodded, trying to get her head around it _man this is big, like so big_. "Okay, uh…" she struggled for words to say. "Okay" she repeated

"You already said that, think of something else"

"Um…uh… well did you mean it?"

"I don't know. My head was so messed up. I was so confused. I ran away, he chased after me asking that exact question but I couldn't answer and then I came back here and before I knew what I was doing, I was ringing Max's number to break up with him, but then you came home all upset about Dean, I didn't really have time to think."

"So you didn't break up with Max then?" _Oh mom you've got yourself into quite the mess._

"No, no I did, just not that evening. I did it when you went round to Lane's. It was quick and I hope painless"

"Oh" _Poor Mr Medina_ "so what about Rachel?"

"Well Yesterday evening when you were at the party, I couldn't stop thinking and I needed to get out of the house and so I found myself at the diner. Rachel was cleaning some equipment downstairs so I went up to find Luke, I needed to talk and trust me at the time I only wanted to talk but we drank a bit and in the end, we kissed, like a proper kiss, putting all those characters in old movies to shame." She said thoughtfully. _It was a hell of a kiss, why did it end again, oh that's right, Rachel._ "But as things were getting more intense that's when Rachel walked in on us and I just ran out of there like Maggie Carpenter, except embarrassed and full of shame, but anyway I asked Luke that same question and he said they aren't together, but I am not sure if Rachel is aware of that."

"Wow." Rory said, that's all she could say but a little piece of her was screaming _it's about damn time!_

Lorelai looked at her daughter. "Yeah wow is right, I don't know what to think, just that I think I really like Luke, he's been my best friend for 5 years, but I am maybe talking more than friendship."

Rory just sat there, still in shock, processing the story her mother had told her.

Rory's silence worried Lorelai, "Hon, if you feel at all weird about this, tell me, and I won't do anything. You're my first priority and I don't want to do anything that would make you uncomfortable." Lorelai said.

"But you want to do something about it?" Rory asked.

"I don't know. Maybe? Care to shed some light on the situation."

"You said you were confused about it all, well what I think is that your mind is already made up, that you're scared. You already confessed you love him and we all know he is in love with you, you described your first kiss, the only kiss… so far like it was something in an old movie, which everyone knows there is something extra special about that, like he will lasso the moon for you sort of thing"

"Right, right" she reflects "you're so right, I am already there, I love Luke, I am in Love with Luke Danes"

"This is big mom. This is Luke. Our Luke. The town's Luke. If you start dating, everyone will know and if it doesn't work out you guys will break up, it will be really bad, I mean we will starve, and he has the best coffee" Rory said.

"I know." She says defeated, looking down to her hands in her lap.

"Mom" Rory's says putting her hand over Lorelai's, "you know I just want you to be happy. Just try not rush into anything if you're not 100% sure." Rory said.

"But you would be OK with it if I was?" Lorelai checked.

"If it's what you want, yes." Rory said.

Lorelai smiled. "You're the best daughter a girl could have. OK so your turn. Talk about Tristan."

"We kissed, that's it. I don't know what it means. He was being really nice."

"Do you think he saw you as an easy target for what happened with that Summer girl?" Lorelai asked cautiously.

"I don't know, maybe, I mean we were both sad, so if it was then I am just as guilty. I think I might've loved Dean and I know he loved me too…." Rory said quietly.

Lorelai frowned. "What do you mean?" She asked confused.

Rory sighed. "On our anniversary, he… he said he loved me… but I couldn't say it back. That's why we broke up, well it's why he broke up with me." She confessed.

"Oh Rory…" She said softly, pulling a strand of her daughter's hair away from her eyes _she's growing up so fast but at least it wasn't something else, Dean wouldn't try that_.

"I just couldn't say it, it was too soon well it seemed too soon anyway so that must mean something right?"

"Rory my heart, I know you've learnt a lot from me but I don't want you to be completely like me. I don't want to think I raised you to think you can't say I love you." Lorelai said.

"It's not that. I just couldn't say it and actually mean it." Rory said sadly.

* * *

The next day at the inn, Lorelai was standing at the reception desk with Michel when she saw Rachel coming down the stairs.

"Um, Michel? When did Rachel check in?" She asked.

"Who?" he said not looking up from his work.

"Rachel, Red curly hair, hazel eyes, killer smile, face probably hidden behind a camera"

"Oh that Rachel, she checked in last night."

"Oh…" Lorelai said _did her and Luke fight? Did he kick her out? Did she leave after what happened? why would she come here?_.

"Is that a problem?" Michel asked.

"Um no, no problem." Lorelai said as she saw Rachel approaching them.

"Rachel, um, hi… I didn't know you had checked in" Lorelai said awkwardly. She wasn't sure how to react.

"Hey Lorelai." Rachel smiled.

 _She's smiling. Surely that's a good sign? Otherwise she plays a good head game, remind me not to play poker with her,_ Lorelai thought.

"I hope you don't mind me staying here?" She said.

"Um no, not at all." Lorelai said. "Rachel could I talk to you for a bit? Outside?"

"Sure!" Rachel said following her outside onto the porch.

"I just wanted to say sorry about yesterday. It shouldn't have happened. I'm not that kind of person to swoop in on another woman's man like that, I swear, even with my background of the whole teen mom thing." Lorelai said sort of babbling.

"Lorelai, relax, it's fine. Honestly. I could see there was something between the two of you as soon as I arrived. Luke and I hadn't discussed anything, he was just helping me out, I guess I just missed him, and It's my own fault to think that everything could just go back to normal how they were years ago but we were so much younger back then. So of course Luke was going to move on. I've been gone for a few years and I know I have hurt him in the process." Rachel said.

"I know but I still feel bad." Lorelai said.

"It's fine, actually last night Luke and I had a chat after you left and I realized how grateful I am of you"

"Wait you are? Why?"

"I know Luke and I will never have that level of a relationship again but I have known him a long time and I know he has gone through a lot of hurt in his life, and he tries to close off from people but when you're around I can see he just lights up, it's good that you have that effect on him."

"Oh wow" Lorelai was caught off guard by these words

"So I was thinking that I'd like to stay around a bit though if that's OK with you?, I mean in town, not at the inn, well yes at the inn until I find something more permanent, I think I like coming back here after an assignment especially if I have been sent off to the middle east again" Rachel said.

"Sure. You're welcome here as long as you want. Well the inn anyway, good luck trying to get around Taylor's strict landlord rules unless you find the rare place that he doesn't have his talons in" Lorelai smiled for the first time, easing up knowing Rachel isn't out for blood.

"Thanks." Rachel said. "By the way, Luke really likes you, loves you in fact, well from my perspective anyhow and remember the camera doesn't lie, So please, here's some advice from a modern nomad, We only get one life, If you do feel the same - which I think you do, give it a chance, be spontaneous, don't overthink like I can see you doing now. He's a great man but I'm sure you know that already."

"Yeah I do. He's done a lot for me and Rory over the years." Lorelai smiled thinking about Luke.

"She seems like a cool kid, I can see that Luke loves her, which what stunned me a little, Luke hates kids"

"Ha yeah I can see why you think that but Rory is 16 going on 35 most days, and like I said Luke has done a lot for us he knows her well, he would do anything for her" _geez add that to the con list of reasons to love Luke._

"Who knows maybe you could soften the old grump completely one day, and hey, don't worry about me, I won't come between you two. Me and Luke are friends, that's all."

Lorelai nodded and they went back inside.

* * *

Monday soon came and Rory was dreading going into school because of Tristan. Just her luck, in her first lesson she was put in the same group as him for a school project, along with Paris who clearly had a thing for the Du Grey heir. They didn't really know how to act around each other. Tristan tried but failed playing off the whole teenage macho act, It was only when Rory heard Paris speak up that she started to listen.

"So Rory and Tristan will be king and queen." She said.

"What? No!" Rory objected.

"Why?" Paris frowned.

"I just don't want to be queen."

"Well no one else can do it. You would know that if you were listening. Now just deal with it." Paris said not backing down and moving onto the next thing to do.

Rory glanced at Tristan but looked away quickly hoping not give much away when their eyes met. After they were done discussing, they all got up to leave for their lockers.

"Hey uh, we should talk, I mean can we talk." Tristan said.

"Um yeah but just not right now. I'm sorry." Rory said awkwardly and rushed off.

* * *

After school, Lorelai had met her daughter at the bus stop wanting to know how seeing Tristan for the first time after the party was, but Rory was in no mood to talk then and there and then dragged Lorelai over to Luke's even though she was hesitant of going in there. "Mom I'm starving and I could really do with Luke's fix today!"

Lorelai sighed but did it for Rory, her and Luke did promise to act normal with whatever outcome, and Lorelai basically promised her daughter it will all be OK. They went in, hearing the bells above door jingle and sat at a table by the window. Luke saw them and wasn't sure how to act but went over to them to take their orders.

"Hey what can I get you?" He asked, trying to catch Lorelai's eye.

"Um Rory needs a Luke's fix. Pronto" She said.

Luke looked at Rory. "Your usual?"

"God yes! Please! Thanks Luke!" She smiled.

"Everything OK?" He asked.

"Yeah just a bad day at school." She said.

Luke nodded and looked at Lorelai. "For you?"

"Uh, Burger and coffee please." She said and then watched him walk away.

"Wow I've never seen you and Luke act so awkwardly around each other!" Rory teased.

"Shut up you!" Lorelai said while Rory grinned.

Her grinning soon stopped though as she looked out of the window.

"Rory?" Lorelai said seeing her change of expression.

"Dean…" She only managed to get out.

Lorelai followed her gaze and was met by the sight of Dean kissing a blonde haired girl in a cheer leading uniform over at the steps of the school. "Oh Rory. I'm so sorry. He's a jerk. He doesn't deserve you. What can I do? Please Hon tell me, I can call a guy, or we can use our godfather knowledge, you know "leave the gun, take the cannoli" She said, hoping some of her references would make it a tad better.

"It's fine. I just want to go home, so yeah I am just gonna go home. Tell Luke to just bag up my food and you can bring it back with you." She said quietly and then left the diner.

As Rory left the diner, a car had pulled up just outside the diner with its driver locating his intended target and decided to go straight into the diner. Lorelai's thoughts were lost with worry for her daughter she didn't even hear the bells above the door jingle, she was miles away thinking of ways to hurt Dean but cheer up her baby girl. She didn't notice the new patron standing at her table until her name was called.

"Lorelai, Hi."

She snapped out of her trance to find one of the least likely people to be in Stars Hollow today of all days.

"Max?!"


	5. Chapter 5

** (A/N) Wooh chapter 5, never thought i'd even get to chapter 1. Eliza (elang4) and I would like to say a big thank you for the support so far, we like reviews, we like follows and faves. I Louise would personally like to thank Eliza for somehow convincing me to do this and kicking my butt out of procrastination mode and into writing mode. Enjoy the chapter xx **

* * *

 _ **As Rory left the diner, a car had pulled up just outside the diner with its driver deciding to go into the diner. Lorelai's thoughts were lost with worry for her daughter she didn't even hear the bells on the door jingle, she was miles away thinking of ways to hurt Dean but cheer up her baby girl. She didn't notice the new patron standing at her table until her name was called.**_

" _ **Lorelai, Hi."**_

 _ **She snapped out of her trance to find one of the least likely people to be in Stars Hollow today of all days.**_

" _ **Max?!"**_

She was startled, she was side-tracked, stunned, alarmed, shocked, one of them at least… well no actually, all of them.

 _Where is Dorothy with those ruby slippers, 3 clicks and I could be home. Oh he's staring quick say something._ "W...What are you...um...doing here?" Lorelai stammered _yeah that was smooth, ugh!_

"We need to talk" He said confidently. "You can't just expect me to accept or even think that it's all over with one phone call. You didn't even give me a reason, not a good enough one anyway. We were good together." Max said trying to take her hands in his.

Lorelai avoided his face, and looked round the diner with panic on her face, she saw people were starting to stare at them. _I can't let Luke see he's here, please Luke stay in the kitchen_ she silently pleaded. "Fine, but not here." She said. She looked over at the entrance of the kitchen making eye contact with Luke who was just walking out with plates of food, his facial expression was inscrutable but his eyes said something else, actually they flickered back and forth between wistful and crestfallen. All Lorelai wanted to do was run and put her arms around him, telling him not to worry, but she couldn't. "I'll be back in a bit for the food." She said, hoping it meant that he knew she would in fact be back and that she didn't want Max.

He just nodded and watched them leave. _Ah geez this guy showing up is gonna put all of it out of motion, maybe Rachel was right I should make the move myself._

Knowing that Rory was at home already upset she couldn't have Max being there also, so Lorelai lead him over to the gazebo. They sat down on the bench, the very bench that faces the diner, where all the patrons and Luke could see them, and therefore trying to decipher their facial expressions. "Ok you said you need to talk, so talk." She said.

"I said WE need to talk" he replied.

"I don't, I have said my piece, so go ahead" she said putting up a cold front.

Max just sighed, noticing how forward she was being, _where is the fun woman I first met._ "Lorelai, please, we were good together. We were happy." Max said.

"- You were the one who broke it off with me!" she reminded him.

"I know and that was a mistake, but it was just for a break. I didn't mean for good! And then suddenly you call up out of the blue and say we're over without any explanations. I need a reasonable adult discussion, you're an amazing woman, I said I needed time, now I don't, I don't want it to be over, Lorelai. I love you." He said.

Lorelai sighed. "Max, you're a great guy. You're kind, funny, and intelligent. I really really did like you too but..."

"So what changed? And don't say Rory because I know that's not true. You said yourself that she liked having me around after she'd gotten her head round it." Max said.

"You said you needed time, your career was in jeopardy, you didn't know what to think so you said you needed some time apart, which in my head sounds kind of like a break up. You weren't sure if I was worth it, you weren't willing to fight or choose, not that I would have made you, but still you walked away! And that hurt! It hurt a lot. Then I started thinking maybe it was the right thing to do before we took it any further, before Rory saw you other than a teacher, but you only said you needed time which the more I thought about it, it didn't sound final so I had to make a call because some things happen with time, things change…"

"Things? What things." He felt a little guilty, this mess was mostly his fault because she was right he did call it off, but still he was desperate and was beginning to get impatient with her lacks of specifics.

She sighed and glanced at the diner, seeing Luke through the window, she was too far away to see his exact facial expression, but if it was anything to go off before, she knew what he was thinking. "I'm so sorry, Max. I never wanted to hurt you. It's just not right…" she said looking him in the eye "…we're not right." Then looked back at the diner - _Luke and I are right, how did I never see this before._

Max caught her glance at the diner, she looked like she was longing for something, for someone and then it clicked, he sighed. "It's because of someone else, isn't it?" _I knew I blew it, this woman is amazing of course someone is gonna pounce._

Lorelai turned to him a little startled. "What?"

"Lorelai, please. I'm not stupid. Everything was going well, until I screwed up. You said yourself that you liked me and then suddenly it's over. It has to be someone else. Don't treat me like I'm stupid please, don't I deserve that much?" Max said.

Lorelai looked into Max's pleading eyes, she just nodded, affirming his assumption. "I'm sorry. You must hate me." She said.

"No, I would never hate you." He said, _is it really possible for someone to truly hate this woman_? _Every guy she meets must love her, like she's a siren from Homers Odyssey - irresistible._ With these thoughts and noticing Lorelai's quick glances back to the diner, Max finally connected the dots "It's the diner guy, isn't it?"

She sighed deeply, she didn't want to get into this subject matter but she decided to be truthful, "Yeah it is, sorry. I swear it's a recent thing. We've been best friends for 5 years and he's done so much for me and Rory, which is a huge understatement, not that you wouldn't do anything for us and I love how you accepted Rory as a packaged deal too but…" She rambled on.

"Lorelai..." Max interrupted her. "It's ok. I should have known really. You mention him a lot. You eat at his diner every day. He fixes your house. He makes the coffee which you've said is your everything, not including Rory."

"I know, my mother said similar things along those lines too. And I promise nothing happened when we were actually together." She said _– except for the kiss_.

"I know, you wouldn't do that." Max reassured her.

"Yeah are you sure you're not mad? You don't hate me? You don't want to throw my body into a wood chipper?"

"Lorelai I already said no… to all of that. Actually I think it may be impossible for me to hate you" he said looking down at his shoes, then towards the diner "He better treat you right though."

Lorelai smiled _Oh he will, he already does_ she thought. "Luke's a great man."

Max nodded. "Well, I guess I should go." He said standing up.

Lorelai stood up with him. "Let me walk you back to your car at least"

"Alright" he said and they silently strolled back towards the diner where his park was parked. "I really am sorry, Max." she said

"You've said that already." Max smiled.

"I know, I just want you to believe it."

"I do" he said, "So you're sure about this right?" He asked sort of joking. "You really like him?"

Lorelai smiled. "I love him." _It's getting easier and easier to say now._

He nodded. "Then tell him. Get your whole package." He turned round after a few steps though and faced her, Max smiled and leant forward to kiss her on the cheek. "It's been a pleasure encountering you, Lorelai Gilmore."

"You too, Max Medina." Lorelai smiled and watched him get in his car and drive away.

She couldn't help smiled as she watched him leave, thinking how well that went. What she didn't know was that a certain someone was still watching the exchange from the diner window.

Luke had been vigilantly watching, mostly in worry, though nothing was decided between Lorelai and him, he was close. He had never been this close and it was giving him hope, maybe a little too much, like fate was testing him. But then this Max guy shows up and he's watching their facial expressions and body language. To him it seemed like she was on the defence and she was turning him down but as the conversation went on further he saw they visibly relaxed, her little glances towards the diner didn't go unnoticed by him but he couldn't read much into that. However near the end they were sort of smiling, he could almost read her lips as they stood beside Max's car, he could of sworn she uttered the word Love, but not knowing what context that was in frustrated him. Then he saw Max lean in, placing a kiss on her cheek before driving off. It made Luke's stomach drop, he thought he had a chance but it looked like Lorelai chose the educated well-groomed literature loving teacher.

* * *

Back at the Crap Shack, when she had arrived home, Rory had decided to call Tristan and asked him if he wanted to come over, which he did.

"Hi." She said as she opened the door.

"Hey." Tristan replied.

"Come in, make yourself at home" Rory said leading him to the living room and sitting on the couch.

He followed her lead joining her, there was silence at first but Tristan was curious. "So what's with the sudden need to talk? You couldn't get away fast enough at school." He said.

"Well first we couldn't talk with Paris and her subordinates sniffing around, she hates me but has a thing for you so… But you're right and I'm sorry. My head's just all over the place at the moment. I was upset, well guilty really, about Dean and our kiss but then today…" She said but then stopped before saying more.

"Today? What happened today?"

Rory could feel her eyes fill with tears. "I shouldn't even be upset. I mean I did the exact same thing."

"What are you talking about?" He said confused. "Rory, you can tell me." He said.

"I saw Dean kissing this girl, a cheerleader, in the street." Rory admitted.

"That idiot!" Tristan said.

"I shouldn't be upset though! Why am I upset? We are broken up and I did the exact same thing. I kissed you! But I don't get it he said he loved me and then he's kissing someone!" Rory said in a state.

Tristan took Rory by surprise and put her arm round her. "It's natural to be upset. I mean he was your first boyfriend." He comforted her. "Looks like he has moved on pretty quickly for someone who said he loved you."

"I still did the same thing though. I kissed you."

"That's different. You were upset, you weren't thinking straight." Tristan said.

"How is that different? God you should have seen his face when I couldn't say I loved him back." She said.

"You couldn't say it back?" He said confused.

Rory shook her head. "That's why we broke up, well he broke up with me."

"Well then he is an even bigger jerk. Which I know coming from me doesn't seem sincere, but breaking up with you because you couldn't say you loved him and then kissing a girl in the street when he knew you could have seen him. A. you didn't need to say it back, not until you were ready, and B. Did you say cheerleader? At least be creative, try for the girl in the cat sweater. Look He doesn't deserve you, you're too good for him. You deserve someone who would treat you well, as an equal, who will let you do things at your own pace."

Rory gave in to his gesture and leaned her head on his shoulder, she smiled a little at his attempts to coat Dean as a bad guy. "Why are you being so nice all of a sudden? You've been harassing me most of the year!" She said.

Tristan smirked. "Yeah sorry about that. I only did it because I liked you."

"Oh so the age old playground rumours are true, if a boy is mean to you, it means he likes you"

"Yeah in this case it does"

Rory sat up. "But you like all girls." She smirked.

Tristan chuckled. "You were different. You didn't fling yourself at me, you didn't even give me a second look. I liked that."

"You liked me because I didn't like you? That's crazy!" Rory said.

Tristan laughed. "You actually have a brain and you're beautiful. I guess I found you a challenge and told myself I'd be able to get you to go out with me." He admitted.

"How romantic." She replied sarcastically.

"The harder I tried though, the more annoyed you got with me and I realised how much I did actually like you. I am sorry I annoyed you so much." He said sincerely.

Rory smiled. "I know and you've said sorry before."

* * *

Lorelai finally walked back into the diner after what seem a while to both her and Luke. She went to the counter to collect and pay for hers and Rory's food. Luke was standing at the register, looking over receipts, trying to not look at her. "Hey..." She said.

"Here's your food." Luke said gruffly.

"Oh, right… um thanks…" She said taken aback by his tone and how he was coming across a little standoffish, she knew she needed to clear the air with him. Before Rory ran out and Max blew in, she was planning on telling him her decision. Now he had turned around to tinker with something, the toaster probably. "Luke?" she said trying to get his attention again "I was wondering, can we talk?" She asked.

"I'm busy." He replied over his shoulder.

"Please, it's important." _He so wasn't ready for that conversation, he knew what was coming_ well what he thought was coming, so Luke did what Luke did best, avoided it.

"I said I'm busy." He said more curtly.

"Ok fine then another time!" Lorelai said. She took the food and headed home, not knowing what she had done wrong. She couldn't help that max had shown up, she would have tried even harder to get his attention but she had an upset 16 year old at home, and every mother knows that's not good.

* * *

Back home Tristan and Rory still sat in the same positions on the couch talking things through. "So do you actually not hate me now? Do I maybe still have a chance? I mean you did invite me over…" He smirked cheekily.

"Hey, don't get cocky mister! I invited you over to talk. I still need to think things over and get my head straight."

Tristan's smirk vanished.

"But you may be off the list of people I want to see sucked into a black hole..." She smirked.

Tristan chuckled. "Good to know!"

Rory sighed. "I'm still getting over Dean. I need some time. But I'd like to be friends if you want that? No more jerk stuff."

"I think I could cope with that." He smiled.

Rory looked at him. "Thanks." She smiled.

Just then she heard the front door open and shut. "Rory? Baby? Sweetie? Angel?" Lorelai Called

"In here!" Rory called and saw her mom appear in the living room.

"I've got food! But no movies, I didn't know what you would be up for-" She said and then stopped when she saw Tristan. "Oh….I didn't know you had company."

"It was a very spur of the moment thing. Mom, this is Tristan. Tristan, this is my mom."

"I could have sensed that." Lorelai said giving Rory a confused look. She then looked back at Tristan, thinking those types of guys Rory described him to be, haven't changed in 17 years since she was at high school, noticing the gelled hair, private school uniform, smirk in his eyes that screamed entitlement, and well she saw his car in her drive which said Daddy's a Lawyer. "Nice to meet you." She said.

"You too." Tristan nodded. He then looked at Rory. "I should get going. I will see you at school, enjoy your food."

Rory nodded. "Yeah and thanks, for you know, the talk and stuff." She smiled. He nodded and left.

Rory looked at her mom, who was giving her that Mom/Best friend look AKA _Spill Missy!_ "We were just talking. I needed to vent, I needed to think some things, and I needed to talk to him specifically."

"And?" Lorelai said.

"We talked and he was really nice. We've agreed to be friends. I told him I needed some time."

"And he's ok with that?" Lorelai said doubtfully.

"Yeah. I swear mom, he's like a different person behind closed doors." Rory said.

 _That's what I am afraid of_ she said to herself. "Well just don't rush into things. I think someone smart told me that… No need to be Natalie Wood in Rebel Without a Cause" She smiled.

Rory smiled, glad her mom wasn't angry. "So how was it with Luke after I left?" She asked.

Lorelai sighed and put the food down on the table in the living room. "It was eventful. I never actually had a chance to talk to him because Max turned up at the diner."

"What? Mr Medina was there? What did he say? Did Luke see?" She asked surprised.

"He wanted to talk. He wanted reasons. So we went to the gazebo and talked. I told him the truth." She said.

"And?"

"He was really nice about it. We ended amicably and then he left." She said.

Rory nodded. "So it's definitely over?"

"Yep. But it was weird." She said.

"Why?"

"When I went back for our food, I asked Luke if we could talk and he was really hostile towards me, he wouldn't look me in the eye. He just gave me the food and said he was busy, he was just tinkering with that toaster again. I don't know why. I know he saw Max, but he knows I don't want him… well I think he does" She said.

"Maybe he thought you were having second doubts?" Rory suggested.

Lorelai looked at her daughter. "You really think that?"

"Well look at it from his point of view. Mr Medina turns up and you go and talk to him" She said.

"- Oh my god!" Lorelai said suddenly realising something.

"What?"

"Max kissed me on the cheek before he left. You don't think Luke saw and thought we were back together?" She worried.

"I don't know mom, that might be what happened. But you should go tell him it was nothing. If you want something to happen with you two, you should make sure he knows that you and Mr Medina are over for good. You know how Luke can get, he will close off, and we won't be able to go to the diner anymore" Rory said.

"OK uh…I'll be right back." Lorelai said with determination and rushed out the house.

Rory smiled, knowing exactly where she was going "and bring home some coffee!" she hollered out to her mother.

* * *

Lorelai ran to the diner, which a Gilmore girl should never do but she was on a mission, she rushed in, grabbed Luke by the arm and dragged him behind the curtain. "We need to talk now." She commanded.

"What? Lorelai! Let go!" He growled, trying only a little to fight her off.

"What happened? Tell me what is going through that head of yours. Why are you suddenly being so hostile?" Lorelai demanded dragging him into his apartment.

"Lorelai Stop would ya. I don't want to get into this right now, I have to work, I have customers."

"Why?! Why don't you wanna talk about this now?" she demanded

"Because… you've obviously made your choice!" Luke said gruffly.

 _So he did see, god some men can be stupid at times._ "If you're meaning Max, I told him the truth." She said.

"Oh yeah? And what's that?" He said sarcastically.

"That I don't want him." She said quietly.

"What? Y… you don't?" Luke said in a tone which was much softer.

"I don't know what you saw Luke but we just talked. He wanted reasons and I told him. He sort of figured it out by himself really but he was really nice, he was an adult about it." She said.

"But the kiss…."

"It was a kiss on the cheek to say goodbye. That's all. Listen to me very closely - I swear, on all the coffee in the world that it is over between me and Max." She said sincerely.

Luke visibly relaxed, knowing she wasn't lying.

"So now ask me again"

"Ask you what" he said genuinely concern

"Ask what you asked the other night, Ask me what I want" she said, she had such a spark in her eye that was full of determination.

Luke sighed "Fine, what… is it that you want?"

"You" she simply said. "I Love you! I want you Luke. I meant what I said at the festival, I love you." She said firmly.

It only took Luke 3 steps across his kitchen, before he was completely enveloping Lorelai in his arms, forcefully placing a fiery passionate kiss on her lips, which she gratefully returned, taking it further by slipping her tongue past his lips, she moaned in delight she was swarmed in complete bliss. Luke smiled at her when they pulled apart looking into her beautiful baby blue eyes, placing one of his worn hands on her soft cheeks. "I love you too." He replied.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Previously…**_

 _ **Luke sighed "Fine, what… is it that you want?"**_

" _ **You" she simply said. "I Love you! I want you Luke. I meant what I said at the festival, I love you." She said firmly.**_

 _ **It only took Luke 3 steps across his kitchen, before he was completely enveloping Lorelai in his arms, forcefully placing a fiery passionate kiss on her lips, which she gratefully returned, taking it further by slipping her tongue past his lips, she moaned in delight she was swarmed in complete bliss. Luke smiled at her when they pulled apart looking into her beautiful baby blue eyes, placing one of his worn hands on her soft cheeks. "I love you too." He replied.**_

* * *

Earlier that day, Old man Jenkins, had woken up repeating his sad sorrow life as he always done. The man was a recluse alcoholic who lived just outside the borders of Stars Hollow. He would wake himself from a comatose state, usually peeling himself off the floor or wherever he had passed out the night before. Grabbed his bottle of whiskey and got on with his days' work. Jenkins owned a small farm, so his work consisted on feeding the livestock, collecting eggs from the chicken coop, then checking the produce he'd grown for selling them off as quick profit to fuel his was a drunk but he had been a farmer a lot long before that, so he couldn't exactly drink away his cultivation skills, but the state of the house and barn did show how bad his life had gotten.

People from the surrounding towns of Stars Hollow and Woodbridge knew to steer clear of the grump and younger people had never heard of of seen him. Apparently he once was a charming fellow, kind to all, champion livestock breeder, but ever since the love of his life, his lovely wife; Beatrice, died years ago, he was swallowed into a dark pit of despair and whiskey.

* * *

 _Back at the diner._

Lorelai smiled back at Luke. She was so happy and her happiness was coming from someone who had been in her life for years. She once again connected her lips with his. They were overwhelmed, adoring in this new found devotion and passion. Luke couldn't help but hold her close as he possible could, but it still wasn't close enough. Amidst their necking Lorelai found her legs against the kitchen table, both had no intention to stop, so Luke lifted Lorelai on to the table, only taking split seconds of oxygen breaks.

Wrapping her legs around his waist had allowed him to gain that closeness he desperately desired, he started trailing kisses along her Jaw, down her neck zoning in directly on that spot where her shoulder and neck joined, the spot almost no one would get on the first go, but not Luke. She and Luke knew each other too well, they shared an exceptional connection that only now they were exploring. As Luke fervently lingered on that spot whilst running one hand through her curly locks and the other on her lower back sneaking past under her shirts feeling her smooth skin, Lorelai's entire body was stricken by goose bumps, over stimulated in thirst, she was almost quivering.

She was about to make an attempt at unbuttoning his flannel when suddenly there was a knock on the door, breaking the spell and snapping the couple apart.

"Hey Luke, it's getting pretty crazy down here man, the dinner rush has started, I could really use your help." Said Caesar through the frosty glass window.

Luke couldn't help roll his eyes, he really couldn't catch a break. Lorelai saw this and giggled at his frustration. "OK Caesar, just give me a sec" he replied then said sorry to Lorelai.

"It's OK, I should get going anyway." She said slightly reluctantly. "Rory's at home and I promised her a movie marathon to distract her."

"She's still upset over dean huh?"

"Yeah I thought she might've been getting better but then she saw something… Dean… kissing another girl outside the school today."

"That jerk-off, how could he do that to her, it's only been a few days!" he said angrily, and Lorelai just stared in awe at him for once again his concern of Rory.

"Yeah well just don't go beating up any 16 year-old's in the street, I know you're friends with officer Coop, but Taylor will still fine you." She said jokingly and he kissed her once more.

"So I should go now, soon I won't be able to stop those kisses, and then we would both be in trouble."

Luke nodded, understanding her need to spend time with Rory. "Wait, what are you doing tomorrow evening?" He asked.

"Tomorrow? I have class in Hartford and won't be home till around 6, but after that? Nothing."

"Why don't I pick you up at 7 and we can go out for a meal?" He said.

Lorelai smiled. "You mean a date? Like a proper first date?"

"Yes Like a proper first date." Luke chuckled.

"Sounds like a plan." Lorelai smiled and leaned in to kiss him a final time. "See you tomorrow, burger boy!" She smirked and then left.

Luke smiled as he watched her leave. _Goodbye Crazy lady._ It had finally happened and he was so happy, beyond happy really, he'd realize how closed off he had been after the loss of his parents and Lorelai had brought him back to life almost.

* * *

Lorelai was on the other side of the square from Luke's and three blocks from her home, when she heard someone calling out her name. Looking around she saw Sookie and Rachel quickly approaching.

"Oh hey guys what's up?"

"I found it!" Sookie exclaimed

"What did you find? Did you lose something that you didn't tell me about?" Lorelai asked, concerned. Enough of the inns budget had gone on to Sookie's expenses and Sookie knew that so she wouldn't have told Lorelai… not right away anyhow.

"No, I found the perfect place for our inn!" She squealed "…well actually Rachel found it."

"Yeah I was just off exploring this place seeing what's still around after all these years and I came across it." Rachel interjected.

Lorelai was still thinking about Luke and wasn't exactly listening to Sookie and Rachel's words "uh… right… uh huh." She mumbled looking back at the diner.

"Lorelai!" Sookie barked.

This snapped Lorelai from her trance. "What!?"

"You weren't even listening to us. What has gotten into you, you've been MIA for days now."

Lorelai said nothing couldn't help but plaster a cheeky but sly grin on her face, she was grinning from ear to ear, like she had a secret because well, she technically did. _I kissed Luke! I kissed Luke! I have a date with Luke, I love Luke, and Luke loves me!_

Sookie knew that look, she hadn't seen it in a while but she knew it. "Lorelai… did you do something slutty?"

Lorelai giggled and replied "not yet" in a sing-song voice.

"Oh, I know what this is about!" Rachel said, "So you and he finally sorted it out?" she questioned.

"You and who sorted what out? What…? He who?" Sookie was lost and confused, what was her best friend not telling her.

"Oh sorry I didn't know you were keeping it a secret. I am just gonna go now, I left some pictures at Luke's I have to get." She started walking towards the diner but turned to ask "Is it weird if I say fill me in? I know we haven't known each other for long but, I hope everything works out."

"Yeah it's fine I'll talk later" Lorelai said and Rachel went off. Lorelai felt Sookie's eyes burning on her. "OK OK OK I'll tell you" she said.

"Tell me what? What is there to tell?"

"Walk with me" she said putting her arm around Sookie's shoulders directing her towards the crap shack. "Well let's see, where to start? Hmmm, well Luke and I kissed" she said casually.

"WHAT?!" Sookie squealed and was smiling almost as much a Lorelai "OMG, this is big, this is amazing, this is great, wait this is great right?"

"Yes Sookie, it's more than great"

"What else? what else? How did this start?"

Walking very slowly back home, Lorelai then proceeded to tell her everything that had happened in a few short days, from the slip up confession to what happened 5 minutes ago with pretty much everything in between then.

"Wow so you really like him" Sookie asked.

"No Sookie… I love him, I am sure of it now."

"Awwww this is so great, I always knew you two would eventually get there. So have you guys done it yet? Is that why you're smiling? Oooh was it in his apartment? Was it on the kitchen table? I always thought you guys would be great on the kitchen table." She rambled.

"Whoa whoa Sookie slow down, we literally just got together not 10 minutes ago, I had dragged him from work upstairs and started yelling at him and said I loved him and then he said he loved me, we kissed, then we were interrupted." She then giggled and lowered her voice a little "But just between you and me, if Caesar hadn't knocked on that door… then yeah the kitchen table probably." This made Sookie also giggle, she was so happy for her best friend, she always knew Lorelai and Luke would be wonderful for each other, and was elated that they finally agreed themselves.

"I am so happy for you, I just want you to know that. Also you seem happy too, so I know this is a good thing."

"Thanks Sookie, I am happy too, it just fits, you know? But is it weird to say that when we haven't been on a date or god forbid, had sex yet?" She smiled.

"I'm not sure sweetie, in most cases maybe, but you're both adults and you've been friends for years, so maybe not it's weird at all. What about Rory? Does she think it's weird?"

"No we talked about it and my angel daughter said she just wants me to be happy, but she is a little worried something bad will happen and she will have to starve since we go to Luke's every day." she said, they were halfway between home and the square at this point.

"She's a true Gilmore" Sookie said as they were crossing a street.

"Hear, Hear!" Lorelai agreed "Oh speaking of my brilliant baby, I just remembered she told me to bring her coffee, and since she's had a bad day I should probably do that now." She suddenly stopped to turn around, intending to go back to the diner.

"OK actually I have some brownies at home I baked earlier, she could probably use a pick me up like that too, so I'll go back and get them and meet you at your place?"

"Sounds good Sook, she will love that." Lorelai smiled and crossed back over the street.

* * *

Remember what I said about Old man Jenkins? well on this particular day Jenkins woke up on the floor like he normally did, and went to his cupboard where he stored bulk-buys of his poison, he noticed he was down to his last bottle. Every few months he had to escape the confinements of his property and drive out to whichever town to stock up his provisions. On this particular day he drove into stars hollow, and trudged through Doose's market. Seeing Taylor in his stupid grey sweater, spew on about how Jenkins lived or how much he was buying was enough to piss him off more than usual, so once he paid for the whiskey he zoomed off away from the square in his beat up car, leaving an ugly cloud of black smoke.

He had finished the final drop in his last bottle and was attempting to open a freshly bought one, not caring about any drink driving laws in place, he needed to drink to forget, to not feel anymore. He wasn't watching where he was going and a combination of speeding with alcohol was a recipe for disaster, which happened exactly at that moment.

* * *

Lorelai couldn't stop herself from smiling. She was in her own little world, crossing that street and she didn't see the speeding car until the last second.

Babette and Morey were out for an pre-evening stroll, they had seen the car fast approaching, and they also saw Lorelai cross the street and suspected that she hadn't noticed it"

"Lorelai! WATCH OUT" Babette screeched!

Babette's voiced snapped her out of her daydreaming, but the warning wasn't fast enough and the car collided with her. She was lifted her up from the ground, onto the hood of the car, smashing into the windshield screen with not just her body, but also her head in the process, before rolling off, landing badly on the road… and unconscious.

Sookie hadn't gone far and turned back towards the direction Lorelai had walked off due to the sound of Babette's voice. Sookie Babette and Morey had witnessed the whole thing. Their eyes widened when they spotted Lorelai lying in the middle of the road, not moving. Her leg was bent out of shape and blood pooling around her.

"Oh my god! Sugah, Lorelai, can you hear me?" shrieked running over to her, with Morey in tow, and Sookie quickly approaching from the other side. Others had heard a commotion from elsewhere and were starting to investigate, soon enough a chorus of gasps could be heard "someone call an ambulance Morey bellowed out to the townspeople". He kneeled beside Lorelai, checking over her injuries and for a pulse.

What many people didn't know about the Jazz crooner was, he once was a successful doctor a couple of decades ago before the work became too much for him and wanted to seek out greener pastures in a more stress free lifestyle, which is when he met Babette and took on his music full time. He managed to find a pulse, it was weak, but a pulse no less. He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding "Babs, you should go tell Rory! Sookie, go tell Luke, he'd probably want to know about this too." He instructed the women who were in awe of how calm and in control of the situation he was, everyone was to be honest.

* * *

Sookie did as she was told, she knew Morey was right, especially with the new information Lorelai had told her, Luke would want to know about this. She ran as fast as she could to the diner. Barging in screaming "LUKE! LUKE! Where are you!" she was too much in a panic, twirling around the diner to sees if he was serving.

He exited the kitchen as soon as he heard his name the first time. Seeing a panicked induce Sookie wasn't a usual occurrence, so something was definitely wrong.

"LUKE! Where's LU-" she yelled at a customer but Luke cut her off.

"Calm down Sookie I am right here, what's going on? What has happened?!"

"Sh…sh…She didn't see! And then bam! And she went up and over and, and, and… its bad, so bad- "

"Sookie! Sookie! Calm Down! What's bad? She who?"

Sookie had tears in her eyes by now, with the haunting images of Lorelai lying crumpled in the street. "Lorelai!…" she choked out.

"What about Lorelai? I just saw her!"

"She was just hit by a speeding car…" Luke's stomach dropped.

That was all Luke needed "Alright everyone get out, foods on me, Caesar CLOSE UP!" Everyone in the diner had been watching the exchange between the two and knew two get the hell out. Luke didn't even take a second to think about money or customers he could be losing, he was already out the door.

* * *

Babette ran down the street and around the corner to the Crap Shack and quickly banged on the door on the door. She knew this would hit Rory hard, everyone knew it would hit Rory hard. Rory answered the door after a minute. "About time, mom! Why are you banging on-" She started saying when she saw it was Babette. "Oh sorry, hey Babette! How's it going?" She said cheerily.

"Oh Rory…" She said.

She noticed Babette's alarmed face and fidgeting hand, "What's wrong? What's happened? Is it Apricot?" Rory asked worried.

"Sugah, it's your mom. It happened so quickly, she was crossing the street and the car came outta nowhere, and then…"

Rory's eyes widened, realizing what she was referring to and ran out past Babette before she could try and stop her. _She shouldn't see this,_ she thought _._

* * *

Luke thanked his lucky stars for his track and field days, because he was at the scene of the accident in less than a minute. There was a big crowd that had already formed and he pushed his way to the center not sure what to expect, but he saw Morey stooping over Lorelai, whose leg didn't look right and she was unconscious, with a giant gash across her head from the impact, she had lost a lot of blood. Luke's heart momentarily stopped, then started to race and his eyes welled up with tears, he tried breathing in again but found it hard, like he was having a panic attack. He was frozen in place until he saw Rory running around the corner with Babette trying to keep up behind. _NO_ he thought _No she shouldn't see this, not her, not Rory, this is too much for her._

Rory was at the edge of the crowd and he had ran around to stop her from seeing, he quickly grabbed hold of her and tried to hold her close to his chest guarding her from the scene, but it was too late she had seen.

"Mom!" She screamed and tried lunging towards her. But Luke didn't let go, she fought him and he loosened his grip. She leant down and held onto her hand, tears running down her face. "Mom, please be OK! please wake up! I need you mom!" She begged.

Morey went over and put his arm around Babette, who was also teary eyed.

"Have you called an ambulance?" Rory cried looking at them.

"They're on their way." Morey said. At that moment Jackson, Andrew and Al attempted to disperse the crowd as they heard the sirens of the ambulance approaching.

Rory looked at her mom. Suddenly she heard the sirens and the paramedics got out and rushing towards Lorelai.

"Please tell me she's going to be OK!" Rory said, crying.

"We'll do everything we can, I promise. We need to get your mom to hospital though. Would you like to come in the ambulance with us?" One paramedic asked kindly.

"I don't know, I don't want her to die, I…" Rory said hysterically in state staring at no one in particular.

Luke had seen Rory answer the paramedic and knew she wasn't in a sound mind, his heart was breaking, not just for Lorelai but for the girl in front of him. Rory looked small, she looked like the little girl he had first met, the little girl that had stolen his heart when she mumbled something he didn't quite catch or least he thought he didn't, when she was feverish with the chicken pox. He once again held her in a hug, close to his chest, which she gratefully accepted and just wept into his flannel.

This didn't go unnoticed by the paramedic "Sir, are you her husband? We asked your daughter if she would like to come in the hospital but I think she's in shock. As you can see she's in quite a state. I am not sure if she understood me." The paramedic said.

"Oh um, she's not my daughter…" Luke said awkwardly. He then looked at Babette, who was standing with Morey, informing the other paramedics and police of what he witnessed and what first aid procedures he began. "Hey Babette, Can you go in the ambulance? I'll take Rory with me in the truck." He said. Babette nodded, told Morey what she was doing and then went off with the ambulance.

Luke looked down at Rory who didn't show signs of calming down at the present time. "We should go to the hospital." He said softly.

"I…I can't…" She said quietly, tears still falling down her cheeks. "W...what if she dies?"

Luke's heart broke. He knew how close Rory and Lorelai were and how lost one would be without the other. He was more than devastated to see Lorelai in that condition too but he knew he had to be strong for Rory, like he was for Liz when their mom was in a similar situation. "She won't. Your mom's a fighter. She'll be fine." He said softly.

Rory looked at Luke. "But what if she isn't? I can't lose her…"

"You won't." Luke said putting his arm round her once again and Rory responded by resting her head on his shoulder. "We should get to the hospital though. We need to see how your mom is."

"Will you stay with me?" Rory asked quietly.

"I'm not going anywhere." Luke said.

Rory looked at him and gave him a forced small smile. "OK." She said.

Luke nodded and directed Rory to his truck, only removing his arm from around her when he helped her into passenger seat and drove them to the hospital. They got out and went into the hospital. They were given directions to where Lorelai was taken and they found Babette in the waiting room of the surgical wing. Babette spotted them and got up. "Oh sweeties! They examined her in the ambulance and said she needed emergency surgery, Sookie just called me she said you guys weren't answering ya phones, but she said that she had called Lorelai's parents who should be here any minute now." She told them. "I'll get going and inform the others for ya and give ya guys some space." She said.

"Thanks Babette and thanks for coming with her." Luke said sincerely.

"It's fine. You two just take care of yourselves and keep us updated." Babette said. "And you Sugah" she said directly to Rory "Don't worry so much. Your mom's tough. She'll be good as gold before you know it." She smiled kindly at Rory.

Rory gave her a small smile and hugged her. "Thanks Babette."

Rory noticed that Luke had gone over and sat down in one of the chairs in the waiting room so she joined him. She knew this would be hard for him too, not only was he in a hospital but Lorelai was the reason they were there. "Are you ok?" She asked quietly. _This must be hard for him, he loves mom, he hates hospitals, and he's already has had so much hurt he doesn't need this._

Luke gave her a small smile. _God, she's an amazing kid. I know she's breaking inside but she still asks about me._ "I'm fine… you know, considering."

Rory nodded and was silent for a minute but Luke could tell that something was on her mind. "What are you thinking about?" He asked.

"I was just wondering, um... well mom was going to talk to you about, um, what happened with Max…" She said shyly. "She told me it's over between them… so did she get a chance to explain to you?"

Luke smiled genuinely. "Yeah she came over and we talked. She told me all about that."

Rory nodded, not saying anything as she didn't want to pry.

Luke glanced at her. "Did your mom, um, talk to you about me and her?" It was his turn to be awkward.

"Yeah…." Rory nodded. She looked up at him. "So is there a 'you and her' then?" She asked.

Luke smiled. "Yeah, there is. That is, only if you're OK with it?" _Only if she survives... Come on Danes don't think like that she will survive._

Rory smiled at his concern for her. "I want mom to be happy and she is with you. Plus you're already basically in our everyday lives anyway, like one of the family." She smirked at the last part.

Luke chuckled but Rory could see him relax a little. They were interrupted by a doctor who came out the staff only doors. "Family of Lorelai Gilmore?" He asked.

Rory and Luke stood up, worried again. "That's us, I'm her daughter and this is my dad" _well he pretty much is_ she quickly said and thought knowing hospital policy of 'family only'. "Is she OK?" Rory asked breathlessly.

"I'm afraid we are still waiting on some tests results at the moment but she has fractured her leg quite badly, her tibia and fibula bones are broken clean from impact and will require surgery to repair them, we are checking for internal damage with her organs, there may be a tear causing internal bleeding, and the CT results are in processing for how severe the head trauma is so she's currently in the OR, and looks like she will be for a while, also she has lost a lot of blood and may require emergency transfusion if you or any other family members are willing." The doctor said sympathetically.

Luke heard Rory gasp a little so took over. "Yeah, yes of course. But she is going to be OK? I mean her leg will heal won't it? You guys can fix the bleeding, and what about her head? She's gonna wake up right?"

"Her leg should heal but it will take time. It was quite badly broken and we arent sure of the soft tissue damage, if we can repair it she will have full functioning with physio therapy treatment. Regarding your other questions, It's early days yet, I'm afraid so I can't comment on her condition but I will do my best keep you informed about the tests and updates throughout the surgery. We should have the results of the scans shortly. But in the mean time I recommend you stay calm and sit tight, it will be a long night, once again I am sorry I can't tell you more"

"Thanks." Luke nodded at him, he tried swallowing the lump that was forming in his throat, he couldn't and wouldn't lose control in front of Rory.

Rory felt tears fall down her face again. Her mom was in critical condition, she couldn't think of the worst, not yet. She looked at Luke through her tears. He held out his arms and Rory hugged him, crying. "She'll be OK. She's a fighter." He said stoking her hair and softly placing a small kiss on top of her head, secretly trying to reassure himself as well as Rory. _Please Lorelai, please be OK, not for me but for this little girl_ he silently begged.

* * *

A little longer than usual, but this is Luke and Lorelai after all, we can't have them happy too soon, can we?  
Remember we like reviews, let us know what you think. XX


	7. Chapter 7

_**Previously…**_

 _ **Rory felt tears fall down her face again. Her mom was in critical condition, she couldn't think of the worst, not yet. She looked at Luke through her tears. He held out his arms and Rory hugged him, crying. "She'll be ok. She's a fighter." He said softly placing a small kiss on top of her head, secretly trying to reassure himself as well as Rory.**_ **Please Lorelai, please be ok, not for me but for this little girl** _ **he silently begged.**_

Only minutes after the doctor left them to be on their own, Emily and Richard had arrived at the hospital as Babette promised. They were given directions to the right department and then stopped as they saw Rory hugging a man in the surgical wing waiting room.

"Why is the diner man here?" Emily said.

"He's a friend of Lorelai's, isn't he? He probably drove Rory here, and she most likely did not want to be alone at this time." Richard reasoned, not fully understanding how bad his daughter's condition was. "Come on, let's go find out what's happened." He said and they walked towards them.

"Rory!" Emily said as they got closer.

Rory looked round. "Grandma, Grandpa!" She said and ran and hugged them too. "You're here" she merely stated.

Emily saw tears still pooling in her eyes and streaks down her face, this didn't give her any comfort seeing her granddaughter in such a state. Emily knew Rory was usually a level headed girl and seeing her so distressed only left Emily with unpleasant presumptions of her only daughter's state.

"Of course we're here" she said and going in for a hug from Rory, squeezing a little tighter for reassurance.

"Is there any news?" Richard asked.

Rory could feel tears well up again, that dismaying lump in her throat was beginning to feel like it was choking her, so she looked to Luke for support. He could see her face and knew what she meant and stepped forward placing a hand on Rory's back for support.

"A doctor's just been out. She's been taken into emergency surgery, she's broken her leg pretty badly but they said that should heal with time, they are still waiting on some results from scans and tests. He also said she has a head trauma but isn't sure of how severe right now and it might look like she has some internal bleeding and that she lost a lot of blood so there will be a chance that one of you or Rory will be needed for a transfusion." He said breathlessly and adjusting his cap.

Emily and Richard just stared at Luke, processing what he had just told them. They knew it was serious, they weren't sure if she would make it or not but both kept that to themselves and sub-consciously they sought out the comfort of each other's hand and held it tightly. Emily couldn't help gasp, needing air, she started to feel panicked and then her own tears threaten to fall.

"Did they say when there would be any more news" Richard asked, he was always a man who wanted to know the full truth or story of certain things and this was one of those cases.

"They didn't say when, but they said it will be a long wait and they will do their best to keep us updated." Luke replied.

Emily straightened up and tried to compose herself jumping into action. "Ok, thank you Luke, you may go now, we will handle it from here. Rory, you're to come and stay with us in Hartford until your mom's better." She said.

"Uh -" Rory said quietly but didn't really want to. She wanted to stay in Stars Hollow with her friends, she loves her grandparents, but that isn't what she wants and it won't be what her mother would want either.

"Actually, Mrs Gilmore…" Luke interjected ignoring Emily's comment about leaving, "I was going to suggest that Rory stay with me until Lorelai is ready to come home, if that is ok with her." Luke said a tad uneasily. "I mean, she might prefer to stay close to her house and she can get to school easily."

The trio stared back at Luke in shock, none more so than Rory but she was touched. She knew Luke cared about her. He proved that after he fought with Dean but she never expected him to offer to take her in.

"Nonsense. She should be with family. And Chilton's 5 minutes from ours so I don't see why it would be easier for her." Emily said, annoyed at him for interfering.

"Forgive me Mrs Gilmore, I just mean, what is going on right now is affecting us all, it would do Rory good to be in a familiar and comfortable environment which she knows and is loved by the people around her, not that I am saying this wouldn't happen at your house but I'm not sure Lorelai would like that... perhaps, maybe we could come up with some arrangement."

Completely irritated now Emily had to bark "I don't even know you. You could be a perverted Neanderthal for all I know."

"Grandma! That is enough" Rory exclaimed. "Luke's not a pervert. You've met him several times, like at my birthday party."

"Oh. Yes I did." Emily said narrowing her eyes. "You were also with us the last time we were here. Well I think being with family is better than being with some man."

"Grandma, to me Luke is family and I really appreciate your offer and maybe there would be a night or two I'll take you up on it, if I am visiting mom till late and too tired to drive, but for most of the time, I would prefer to stay in Stars Hollow. Lane's there and Sookie. I'd like to stay with Luke." Rory said quietly. She then turned to Luke. "If you're sure that's ok?"

"Of course." Luke gave her a smile.

Emily was fuming. _Who was this man and why was he butting in with her family? And why did Rory want to stay with him over her own grandparents? Why is he even here?_

Her thoughts were interrupted, though, when Rory's phone went off. "Rory, you shouldn't have your phone on at the hospital."

"Sorry, I must have forgotten to turn it off. I will just be a minute." She said and went off down the corridor. Leaving the three to a tension infused staring contest. Eventually they realized they are adults and here for Lorelai, which resulted in their thoughts turning back into worry. Emily and Richard gave in and sat down, followed by an awkward looking Luke who didn't dare sit next to the Gilmores.

* * *

"Tristan?" Rory answered her phone.

"Hey I got home about an hour ago and just wanted to talk, but no one was answering your house phone."

"Oh, right, um –"

"Is everything ok?"

Rory's mind was a mess but all she could picture was her mom's broken body on the asphalt, choking back a sob she decided to be truthful "No… it's my mom, she… she's… we're at the hospital, there was an accident and she's in surgery" and her tears flowed freely once more.

"What hospital are you at?" Tristan asked.

"What?" Rory asked confused.

"What hospital are you at?" He repeated.

"Um Hartford Memorial." Rory said.

"Ok, I can come by if you want, you know, for support."

"Uh thanks, but maybe… not right now, how about later tonight or tomorrow sometime." She didn't really want him seeing her like this, also Luke and her grandparents are sitting in the waiting room and will want information on who Tristan is, when they need to focus on her mom.

"Ok will do, and don't worry about school, I'll get your work and stuff and bring it by, we can't have you getting behind and letting Paris get the jump on you."

This made Rory giggle just a little "no we can't have that, but thanks Tristan I appreciate it, I'll call you though, I'll definitely need some coffee, it's gonna be a long night."

"No problem… Oh and Rory?"

"Yeah?"

"Your mom is gonna be Ok, if she is anything like you, I know she will be fine."

"Thanks Tristan, I'll fill you later, ok bye." Rory hung up and returned to the waiting room, she saw how segregated Luke was from the Gilmores and both parties silently wanted her to come to them, but she was the peace keeper around here and just sat right in the middle and began reading a brochure left on the chair next to her.

* * *

Nearing 7 o'clock it had been 2 hours since Lorelai had been taken into surgery, the doctor had come out about an hour ago informing them of the test results and they had started repairing the damage on Lorelai's leg. They had found a bleed in her internal walls but it doesn't look too severe. Luke was getting restless, he hated hospitals, the waiting resulted in flashback after flashback of his mother and father during their times there. The clinical smell was giving him a headache and he knew Rory would be hungry so he decided to search out some food and coffee for all three Gilmore's and tea for himself.

He found a burger joint not far down the street from the hospital, and given it was a Monday it wasn't busy, he had asked what time they were open till, in case of any more late night food and coffee runs and the cashier must have known what Luke was going through just by the state his face was in.

"We're open till midnight sir, if you need anything else, there is a 24 hour mart 2 blocks from here on the other side of the hospital, I'm sorry"

"Thanks" Luke simply said and returned to the hospital.

Rory hadn't even realized how hungry and coffee deprived she was but was grateful. Luke walked over to Emily and Richard handing them a tray of to-go coffees and a bag of food, not knowing what they liked or didn't like but knowing Richard's heart wasn't as strong as it should be he had said there was turkey burgers and fries and salad, oh and plastic cutlery, knowing it wasn't as good as proper cutlery but he knew Emily would like eating with her hands. The Gilmore's were also grateful for him considering them and their well-being, and he just smiled at their acknowledgments.

* * *

Nearing midnight both Emily and Richard were asleep in their chairs leaning against each other for physical as well as emotional support. Luke who normally went to bed around 9 was surprisingly nowhere near tired, the worry had resulted in adrenaline running through his body. He noticed Rory subtly nodding off then quickly jolting awake again, she was fighting sleep, unlike Luke, her worrying had lead her to be exhausted. He got up and sat next to her, not saying anything, he rolled up his jacket that he had taken off earlier and placed it next to his leg and had Rory lay down using it as a pillow despite her protests.

"Rory, just sleep, there's no point trying to fight it at this point, I promise I'll wake you if anything happens."

"OK, thanks Luke, for everything" she mumbled and finally falling into a slumber.

Around 2 am his adrenaline had worn off and he fell into his own dreamless sleep.

At 6.43 am Luke felt someone shaking his arm, waking him in the process, he found himself was face to face with a different doctor in light green scrubs.

"Excuse me sir, are you the family of Lorelai Gilmore."

Luke still mostly groggy replied "uh, yeah, hang on." Luke proceeded to gently wake Rory and then walk over waking Richard who woke Emily for him.

"Oh hello doctor, what's the news is she out of surgery?" Emily asked desperately.

"Yes ma'am she is, I am here to fill you in on the outcome. Well the orthopedic surgeons managed to repair Lorelai's leg almost to full capacity, we will have to wait till some swelling goes down to know if there is any further surgery required. Her organs all seem fine, she only had a small tear with little impact so that will make a full recovery. However when we put her in the post anesthesia care unit to let her wear off the anesthesia and initial shock of surgey, there were good things and bad things. The good was her blood pressure started to rise at a healthy rate so a transfusion was not and is not needed and she is also breathing easy on her own. But in terms of bad - there were clear signs that the head trauma was more severe than a simple concussion, I'm really sorry, despite our best efforts, it seems that Lorelai has gone into a coma, she suffered a very traumatic head injury. There is signs of activity in her brain, so thankfully she isn't brain dead, but we don't know when or if she will wake up." He said sympathetically.

Richard squeezed Emily's hand, and Rory just fell into Luke hugging around his waist letting the tears fall for the umpteenth time, but Luke just stood there, numb. The woman he loved was in a coma. Less than a week ago, they were just their normal selves with their everyday friendship, less than 3 days ago they had shared their first kiss, and less than a day ago, they were planning their first date, and now she was in a coma. How was this happening? He had suffered so much, what did he do to deserve all this? His knees were weak and failed him where he then collapsed back on the chair, he was staring forward not aware of anything or anyone around him.

However his reaction didn't go unnoticed by Emily and Richard. They were surprised by how hurt and heartbroken he looked. _Maybe there is something going on there, because that is a look of a man broken for his love._ Emily thought very quickly before her thoughts went back to Lorelai, her daughter, her only baby was lying unconscious in a hospital room and she didn't know if she was going to wake up again.

Luke was shaken out of his thoughts by Rory's voice. He looked up and saw her looking at him with concern and worry. "Are you OK?" She asked. The man was pale, the usually stoic Luke was showing emotions Rory had never seen before.

It was then became aware of his reaction and that tears were falling down his face as well. He wiped them away embarrassed. "Um yeah." He said. _Damn it Danes you said not in front of Rory._ He internally scolded himself.

Rory sat next to him and hugged him once again. "You don't have to be strong for me, you know." She said quietly against his chest. "I know this is really hard for you too. You've loved her for 5 years."

 _So he does love her, well that's quite obvious but does Lorelai return these sentiments_ Emily thought watching this exchange between the diner man and her granddaughter.

Luke rested his chin on the top of her head, shocked that she knew the truth but touched that she could be so understanding despite her evident pain. "You're an amazing kid. Your mom's so proud of you, don't you ever forget that." He said softly.

Emily and Richard had been watching this closeness between this man they hardly knew anything about and their granddaughter. They were interrupted by the doctor again to say they could go in and see Lorelai in pairs. Emily and Richard went first.

Soon it was Luke and Rory's turn.

Luke and Rory went to the Lorelai's room and Rory gasped when she saw her mom. Her eyes were shut, her face was mixtures of reds and purples, with a row of stitches across her hairline, but it didn't seem like Lorelai, she was too motionless and her leg was in a heavy looking cast propped up a little. She sat down on one side of her while Luke sat on the other side.

"Mom?... Mommy, I don't know if you can hear me, but if you can I just want you to know, I love you so much. I know you need your rest right now, but please wake up. I need you… please…" She said tearfully. She looked up to see Luke holding her other hand and decided to give them some space, she couldn't handle being there right at this moment. "I'm going to get some air, I need to make some calls. I'll be back in a bit." She said and left, after giving her mom a kiss on the forehead.

Luke looked up to see her leave and then looked back at Lorelai.

"Lorelai?" He said quietly. "Please I know you can hear me, you wouldn't be Lorelai if you couldn't. I just need you to open your eyes. I need you to wake up. Rory needs you. I need you. I love you so much and I'm not going to lose you because of a stupid old man and his speeding car. You're tough, you're a fighter, Lorelai, you always have been, I know you can do this. Please just fight, for me, for Rory, for your parents, who by the way are here and giving me evils!, but I am not going anywhere." He sighed, looking at Lorelai who wasn't showing any signs of hearing him. "In these past few days, with everything - it's crazy to think it has been only a few days huh? But I realized I can't live without you. I love our banter, I love your eating habits, and I love your crazy outfits, I… I just love you… and I have for a long long time. You're my best friend. Just please be ok. If not for me, then for that girl... for Rory. You mean the world to her, to both us." He couldn't go on any further, the tears were falling freely down his cheeks and he leaned over and placed a kiss on her forehead and another kissed her on the lips. He broke down next to her side, audibly sobbing.

Outside, Rory was leaning against the wall, she had sunken to the floor sobbing too. She'd heard all of Luke's speech and she couldn't believe how strong he was being for her, especially now she could hear his sobs which agonized her more since Luke was one of the strongest most passive men she has come across. Her mom had only been here less than a day and she missed her already.


	8. Chapter 8

_**Previously…**_

… _ **You're my best friend. Just please be ok. If not for me, then for that girl, for Rory, you mean the world to her, to both us" He couldn't go on any further, the tears were falling freely down his cheeks and he leant over and placed a kiss on her forehead and another kissed her on the lips. He broke down next to her side, audibly sobbing.**_

 _ **Outside, Rory was leaning against the wall, she had sunken to the floor sobbing too. She'd heard all of Luke's speech and she couldn't believe how strong he was being for her, especially now she could hear his sobs which agonized her more since Luke was one of the strongest most passive men she has come across. Her mom had only been here less than a day and she missed her already.**_

Rory wiped her tears from her face and went to the waiting room to sit down. She wanted to give Luke some space. There stood her grandparents who equally looked exhausted, they told her they needed to get home and catch up on some sleep before they had calls to make and plans to see to but will be back later. Rory couldn't help being irritated by this, she didn't understand how people could continue when her mother, her best friend… her everything, was lying in a cold clinical room.

 _Before you carry on with your lives you mean, how could you just carry on? Your only daughter was fighting for her life just hours ago and now is in a coma –_ She thought _._ She said bye to the Gilmores avoiding eye contact with them and watched them walk out of the waiting room. She looked at the clock on the wall which read 7:30. She sunk down into a chair and put her head in her hands. She was exhausted and missed her mom terribly, even if she was only down the corridor, it wasn't the same. A voice brought her out of her daze though.

"Rory?" The male voice said.

Rory looked up and was surprised to see Tristan standing there in the Chilton school uniform. "Tristan? Wh...What are you doing here?

"I just wanted to see if I could do anything for you or if you needed a friend." He said sincerely.

Rory was touched. "Thanks… Wait it's Tuesday, There's school! You can't skip school! Don't skip school for me!" She started ranting.

"Rory, relax!" Tristan said softly and sat down next to her. "Classes don't start till 8, but I have study hall first today, I never go to study hall." He said with a cheeky smile. "I just knew you would have been here all night and could use some coffee and food, so here" He says handing her a bag with a breakfast burrito and a take-away coffee cup.

"So how's your mom?" He asked softly.

Rory could feel tears forming yet again. "Not good. She came out of a long surgery not long ago, she has broken her leg badly… but uh… she's… she's in a coma and we don't know when she will wake up."

"Hey" he said delicately placing his hands on her back, rubbing in circles soothingly, "she'll be OK."

"I can't lose her. She's my best friend… I'm scared." She cried.

Tristan took hold of her and hugged her.

"Thanks for coming." She said quietly into his chest.

"It's OK I am here…Are you OK? Is there anything you need?" Tristan asked.

Rory felt tears again and this time let them fall. "I need my mom to wake up." She said, burying her head into his chest once more. "It's only been less than a day and I miss her like crazy."

Tristan held her until a voice behind them interrupted them. It was Luke. "Um…Rory?" He said awkwardly.

Rory wiped her tears away and looked round. She could tell he had been crying, well she had heard his breakdown but she could see he was trying to hide it from her. "Hi Luke…"

"Um…I was wondering if you wanted to go home for a bit…" He started awkwardly, glancing at Tristan who he didn't recognise.

"Oh, Luke this is Tristan. A friend from school. Tristan, this is Luke. He and my mom are together, so I am going to stay with him until mom gets out of here." She said.

"Nice to meet you sir." Tristan said standing up, holding out his hand.

Taken aback by the respect, he forgot to judge him and shook his hand. "Yeah you too. It was nice of you to come and support Rory." He said.

"I just thought she'd need a friend and to not worry about schoolwork, oh and bring her coffee and breakfast, sorry I didn't know you were here so I only brought some for her." He said.

Luke nodded "that's alright, thanks for thinking of her".

"I better go. Just call if you need to talk. I'll come by after school if you're here" He said to Rory.

"I will be, Thanks. And thanks for coming." Rory said and hugged him.

After he left, Rory turned to Luke. "You were saying something about going back to Stars Hollow?"

"Yeah. I know you won't want to but you could do with some proper sleep and I thought maybe you might want to change or wash or something." Luke said. "We will come back later."

Rory thought about it and realized how tired she was, her face definitely needed a wash and she needed out of the clothes she currently had on, she then nodded at Luke. "I need to say bye to mom first though."

Luke nodded. "Yeah sure. I'll wait here." He said. He watched her as she walked off to Lorelai's room and sat down in one of the chairs. _God this is hard. That girl is so strong. At least she has friends looking out for her, even if they are boys. Oh speaking of friends I should call Sookie and stuff._

So Luke sought out for a pay phone dialing up Sookie first, telling him of everything he knew and that she was in a coma now. He informed her how Rory was doing and that he was going to be the one looking after her which took Sookie by surprise but it was Luke after all, Sookie knew Rory was the closest thing to a daughter he had. He told her he didn't want people bombarding Rory with questions but asked to calmly support her like Rory would do for others, also that they could go visit Lorelai during visiting hours, but he needed to warn Sookie that Lorelai didn't look much like herself right at the moment, referring to the scars and bruises covering her face. He could tell Sookie was close to the edge of tears when talking about her condition and decided that that was enough information she needed at the time and then he asked her to sort out stuff at the inn with that 'putz', Michel and together they would take care of everything and contact Mia.

After hanging up with Sookie he decided to call Babette as promised, he figured since she's tied for first place of the gossip podium that she would tell Patty and both would get all the info out there that people needed instead of badgering him for it. He basically told her exactly what he told Sookie, except he included himself in the part where he didn't want people asking questions to Rory and extended it to Himself. She gratefully thanked him for the call and told him that all the folks back home were thinking of him and Rory but most of all, Lorelai.

* * *

Tristan had arrived at Chilton just before the bell that ended Study Hall, there was no point making an appearance though that would be shocking in itself regardless if he was on time or not. On his way to his locker he made a detour to the office to see if Emily had informed the school of what is going on, the lady at reception gave him a peculiar look wondering why the heck Tristan Du Grey was asking about this, she eventually told him that teachers had in fact been informed of it and were to deliver a week's work notes and a list of the right readings to the office, for someone to pick up that afternoon, basically everything Rory needed and a little more so she wouldn't get behind.

He then went to his locker sorting out the books needed for his next class, when he was then interrupted by Paris grilling him.

"Hey Tristan" she said.

"Hello, Paris" he replied in his enticing playful way.

"So what were you doing at the office asking about Gilmore?"

He couldn't help smirk at that, Paris had a hand in everything really. "You still hanging outside the windows? Geller, you really gotta stop that habit" he said with a wink.

"Don't avoid the question, what has happened to Gilmore? I heard teachers talking about her, she hasn't had a mental breakdown has she? Not one to handle pressure right?"

Tristan thought that back to how broken Rory looked and how she had cried into his chest, he felt extremely bad for her and didn't want Paris goading anything. He threw back his head a breathed a sigh of frustration. "Look if you must know her mom was in a pretty bad accident yesterday and Rory spent the entire night at the hospital, and now her mom is in a coma so it looks like Rory will be spending a lot of time there. I __was at the office to check if the school knew about all of this, thankfully her Grandmother had called and made arrangement's meaning the teacher had to send her everything she would need to study at the hospital. OK happy now?"

This shocked Paris, Lorelai had been kind to her even though she probably knew how she had treated Rory. "Lorelai's in a coma?"

"Yeah… you've met her?"

"She took us to a concert once. It was fun. She and Rory are freakishly close, it seems... kind of nice… so Rory must be pretty shaken up?"

"Yeah she is, I just hope Lorelai pulls through and Rory doesn't get behind in school. I mean she didn't look to good when I saw her this morning anyway."

"Yeah I'll try and get extra notes for her or somethi- wait you saw her this morning, since when are you two friends? You infuriate her."

"Yeah well we've talked since then and smoothed things over, so Paris, while this stuff is going on play nice OK." Patting her on the shoulder and then he walked off to class leaving Paris standing there questioning about that last statement.

* * *

Rory had gone into her mom's room and went to her side. She held her hand.

"I'm going back home for a bit, mom, but I'll be back, maybe I'll bring coffee" She tried to joke, but sighed knowing her mom couldn't reply. "Don't worry about me, Luke's taking good care of me, which the grandparents don't like but I wouldn't have it any other way. Just please fight this. I love you mom. I'll see you later." She said and kissed her forehead. She then went to find Luke and they both went back to the Crap Shack.

About 20 minutes after they arrived, the house phone rang.

"Do you want me to get that?" Luke asked, knowing that the town probably knew she was back by seeing his truck in the drive, they probably wanted updates. He didn't want her to have to go through that. He hoped Babette had included that part of the memo he gave her.

Rory turned round from looking at the mantelpiece full of photos and nodded gratefully.

"Hello?" Luke answered. "Oh hey. Yeah hang on, I'll ask..." He said and turned to Rory. "It's Lane. Do you want to talk to her?" He asked.

Rory smiled a genuine smile for the first time since everything happened and nodded and took the phone from Luke. "Lane?" She said and took it to her room.

Luke went back to the kitchen where he was preparing some food for them, before quickly stopping over at his apartment for a shower and some fresh clothes while Rory slept.

After a few hours, they were both ready to go back to the hospital.

* * *

A week had passed they were both at the crap shack for that evening and Luke was trying to persuade Rory to go back to school. She had been studying insanely hard and keeping up with work because there's only so much of a one sided conversation you can have in a hospital room, and Rory used her studying as a way of distracting her from worry about her mom. So surprisingly she was ahead in her homework and assignments, Tristan kept bringing them to her and he would return the work she did, even some extra credit work had been done which Tristan thought was crazy, but Tristan barely did his work so what did he know. The fact was that Rory hadn't actually gone back into the Chilton grounds since that near-fatal Monday.

Luke was in the kitchen of the Crap Shack making food when he broached it with her.

"Um Rory, I was thinking, maybe you should go back to school for a bit..." He said awkwardly.

Rory looked up from the table. "I can't…" She said quietly.

"Rory, your mom's condition hasn't changed. The hospital has promised to let us know if anything does change when we're not there." He said softly sitting down and placing a hand on hers. "Your mom would want you to go back… and I think a change of scenery could do you good, trust me on this kid, I've been where you have been."

Rory didn't say anything though she did wonder about that last part. It wasn't that she didn't want to go back to school but she didn't want to be away from her mom, she would have moved in to her hospital room if they let her, also at school everyone would be asking questions. She had seen Tristan a few times and even Paris had rung but she didn't want others bombarding her with questions or giving her sad sympathetic faces. She didn't think she could handle it. "I don't know if I could handle it. People would be asking questions…" She admitted quietly.

Luke came and sat down at the table with her. "I know it's hard but I'm sure people will respect your privacy. They will know it's hard for you. I just think you could do with getting back into a routine. And if it's too hard, I promise I will come and pick you up. Just give it a try, maybe start off with a half a day if you want." He said softly.

Rory looked at him and after a minute she nodded. "OK…"

Luke nodded and went back to the food. Rory gave him a small smile. She really had appreciated everything Luke had done for her. He made sure she was never alone overnight. He comforted her when she got upset and he had made laugh a couple of times to cheer her up. He had basically looked after her like her mom would have done. They had become closer than they had been before and she really appreciated his presence in her life, she couldn't help thinking _so this is what it is like to have a dad/male figure around_.

* * *

One night there was a massive downpour over the Connecticut terrains, Rory had taken the bus to school that day and went straight to the hospital as soon as the final bell rang, she would sit there and talk to her mom about her day and then get stuck in with her homework. The rain didn't look like it was winding down anytime soon and that worried Luke. Since he was closing the diner that night, giving Caesar some time off as a thanks for the hard work, he couldn't go pick Rory up. He did the responsible thing and had to make a call to the only people suitable.

" _ **Hello Gilmore residence"**_ The maid answered

"Yeah hi could I please speak to Richard"

" _ **Certainly may I ask who is calling?"**_ she asked

"It's Luke Danes."

" _ **One moment please"**_

There was a pause, allowing Luke to adjust his cap, he always was a little nervous when it came to the elder Gilmore's.

" _ **Hello Luke, is something wrong? Is it Lorelai?"**_

"No sir, still no change…"

" _ **Oh, well what can I do you for?"**_

"Sorry to be calling so late, but Rory is still at the Hospital and I am stuck at work, and it looks like the storm is getting worse, so I don't want her waiting for a bus, it's too dangerous for her being out in this weather or anyone for that matter, so I was wondering since you live close by if you could pick her up and she could stay at your place and go to school tomorrow from there."

" _ **Of course Luke, no problem, not sure about where you are but there looks like a small break in the storm coming so I'll get her and have Emily sort everything else out for her."**_

"Thank you sir I appreciate it."

" _ **No thank you Luke, for being concerned for her safety… and also taking good care of her."**_ _He must really love my daughter, well that part is obvious, Lorelai has that effect on men, but the way he cares for Rory, its more than Christopher has done. He is a good man despite his upbringing._ Richard thought.

"It's no trouble really" Luke insisted

" _ **I best be going I don't know how long this break will last, we will talk soon, bye."**_ And the two men hung up.

Luke was thinking how their routine had developed over the time Lorelai had been in hospital, he missed Lorelai terribly but having Rory around was nice. They would split their time between the Crap Shack and the diner apartment, so Rory would have a chance to sleep in her own bed, that is if he wasn't closing that night. But if he was, she would study in the diner or watch him close before he would send her to bed upstairs. He had given her his single bed while he slept on the couch, he didn't mind at all. He also let Rory move some of her stuff into his apartment so she felt more at home there. But back at the Crap Shack, Luke slept on the sofa even though Rory told him that there was a free bed upstairs. He just felt wrong sleeping in Lorelai's bed, a part of him craved to, but it wouldn't be right without Lorelai there, especially when they didn't even get the chance to go on their first date, which as a red-blooded-man with primal urges, he secretly hoped the date would have ended in said bed.

* * *

Back the hospital, Rory was lost in thought, she had really appreciated having her friends supporting her but most of all, she really appreciated having Luke around, he always made sure she was safe and fed and warm. He was being so strong around her even though she knew it was killing him seeing her mom like that. He even had offered to help with her school work but she kindly refused as she found studying in her free time, alone and quiet, took her mind off the awful situation.

She was brought out of her thoughts when there was a knock on the door. She saw her grandfather standing there with his hands awkwardly in his pocket.

"Hey, Grandpa I didn't know you were gonna be here" She was a little cheered up seeing him there, she didn't really know if or when her grandparents visited her mom.

Richard turned and gave Rory a smile. "Hello Rory, still no change?"

Rory glanced back at her mom with a sad look in her eyes "nope, still no change, she's being stubborn." She attempted to joke.

Richard gave a small chuckled "That's your mother for you, always has been…"

"Grandpa don't take this the wrong way, but what are you doing here? So late?"

"Oh right, I am here to pick you up, Luke had called me saying he was worried about you being out in the storm, and asked for me to pick you up and have you stay in Hartford for the night."

"Oh, I hadn't even notice how bad it was out there, that was nice of him." Her heart warmed at the thought of Luke being worried for her.

"I thought so too, so shall we" he said holding his arm out for her to link hers through it.

"Just one sec" she said and went back over to her mom placing a kiss on her forehead like she did every night before leaving "Mom, Grandpa is here to pick me up so I'll see you tomorrow, try to wake up please, I love you mommy". She went back over to her Grandfather and the pair walked out arm in arm.

* * *

On the quick drive back to the Gilmore mansion, the ride was quiet, and Richard was itching to ask some questions, all those years living with Emily must have done it to him.

"So Rory, how are you doing? I'm afraid we haven't seen much of each other recently"

"I'm OK…considering" She said hesitantly.

Richard knew she was lying but didn't want to push her. "And Luke?" He asked carefully.

Rory sighed. "I don't know. He doesn't show his emotions in front of me. I can tell he's trying to be strong for me but I know this must be killing him…"

Richard nodded, not really sure how to proceed. "And uh Luke is your mom's closest friend?"

Rory didn't really know how to answer. She knew they wouldn't want it out yet that they were dating, well are supposed to be... "Yeah..." She said. "They've….we've known Luke for 5 years, they are each other's best friends." _Well she wasn't lying._

"And you staying with him is working OK?" _Best friends huh? Well I would say Emily and I are 'best friends' in that case._

"He's been great, Grandpa, really. I understand if you're concerned but I trust Luke, he's been there for me for a long time." Rory said.

Richard nodded. "Well If you trust him, then I trust him as well." _Despite everything Lorelai is a good mother and wouldn't let Rory around just anybody, and based on Luke's phone call tonight then he is trustworthy_ he mentally decided.

* * *

 **So that's another chapter for a bit. Let us know what you think, Eliza and I like reviews :) xx**


	9. Chapter 9

_**Previously…**_

 **"Yeah..." She said. "They've….we've known Luke for 5 years, they are each other's best friends."** _ **Well she wasn't lying.**_

 **"And you staying with him is working OK?"** _ **Best friends huh? Well I would say Emily and I are 'best friends' in that case.**_

 **"He's been great, Grandpa, really. I understand if you're concerned but I trust Luke, he's been there for me for a long time." Rory said.**

 **Richard nodded. "Well if you trust him, then I trust him as well."** _ **Despite everything Lorelai is a good mother and wouldn't let Rory around just anybody, and based on Luke's phone call tonight then he is trustworthy**_ **he mentally decided.**

Richard and Rory arrived back at the Gilmore Mansion where the rain started to pour down into a thunderous hail storm.

"Wow, it looks like Luke was right." Rory said. "Good thing I didn't wait for a bus. I probably would have been waiting for ages."

"Yes it does look that way." Richard agreed.

They got out of the car and rushed into the house. Emily came from the living room. "Thank god! Richard where on earth did you go?! There's a storm going on! I was worried!" She exclaimed. It was then that she saw Rory. "Rory!" She said surprised.

"Hi Grandma..." Rory said quietly.

"Emily, I'm sorry I worried you but I received a call from Luke who had seen the forecast. He couldn't get away from the diner and he was worried about Rory waiting for a bus this late at night. He asked me if I could collect her and bring her back here for the night which of course, I agreed as it would be the safest option for the conditions outside." Richard explained.

"I hope that's OK, Grandma. Sorry you were worried." Rory said.

"Oh no, it's fine Rory. It's nice to see you." Emily gave her a smile, having calmed down, just glad to have her granddaughter there.

"I better go ring Luke and let him know I'm here safe." Rory said and got her mobile out and went into another room.

Emily looked at Richard. "How come Luke couldn't get off work? Doesn't he own the place, surely he has staff to work for him." She said snidely.

"He didn't say but I think it was good of him to think practically. With the weather being what it is we don't need another accident in our family, he was concerned for Rory's safety." He said softly.

Emily's haughty tone faded a little. "Yes, you're right." She gave a small smile. "How is Lorelai?"

"There's still no change." Richard said sadly.

Just then Rory came back in so they stopped their conversation.

"Did you get through to Luke?" Emily asked, trying to make an effort.

"Yeah, right before the line cut out, he said he was glad I got here OK and that he will see me tomorrow." Rory said.

"Good. Now have you eaten?" Emily asked.

"Not since early afternoon. I had a quick snack at Luke's." Rory admitted.

"Well we can get our cook to make you something." Emily said walking off on a mission.

Soon they were all sat at the table. Rory was eating and Emily and Richard were sat with her, having eaten earlier.

"The food was great." Rory said sincerely, finishing her last mouthful. "Is it OK if I go to bed now though? I'm quite tired and I have school tomorrow."

"Of course, you go. We'll give you a lift in the morning." Emily said.

"Thanks. Night Grandma." She said giving her a hug. She then did the same to Richard. "Night Grandpa."

She then went upstairs and let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. It had been a bit awkward. She hadn't really known what to say to them. She didn't even know if they had even visited mom since that first day, which had angered her a bit and she knew her grandma was still annoyed that she had chosen to stay with Luke over staying with them. She sighed and got dressed for bed and got in it.

* * *

The next morning, Rory got up and went downstairs. Her grandparents were already at the table eating.

"Morning." she said quietly.

"Rory, good morning!" Emily smiled at her.

 _God why was she so cheerful?_ Rory gave her a small smile.

"Have anything you like and then I will take you to school." Richard smiled.

"Thanks." She said quietly and sat down and ate a pastry.

Soon it was time to go to school. Since returning back to school she felt a little better since it actually wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. Tristan had been really nice to her and sat with her at lunch so she wasn't alone, not that she ever minded being alone. Even Mr Medina had talked to her, saying he was thinking about them, which she appreciated.

She was standing at her locker that afternoon when Paris went over to her.

"Hey.." Paris said.

"Oh. Hi." Rory said.

"How's your mom doing?" She asked.

"There is still no change." She said quietly.

"Look I'm not really any good with this emotional stuff but I'm sorry. I know how weirdly close you and your mom are. And your mom's cool. She was nice to me even though you probably told her I was making your life a nightmare. If you need any help keeping up with work, I'm here." Paris said sincerely.

Rory gave her a small smile, appreciating her gesture. "Thanks Paris."

Paris nodded and walked away.

* * *

At the end of the day, she walked out of school and saw Luke waiting for her with his truck. She smiled, ignoring all the judging whispers about the truck that was going on around her. She went over to him giving him a hug. "Hey! This is a surprise I thought I was getting the bus?" She said.

"I know that you normally do but seeing as we didn't see each other yesterday I thought I'd give you a ride… there's coffee inside" Luke said awkwardly.

Rory smiled. "Thanks Luke... you old softy." She said getting into the truck.

"So how was school today?"

"It was OK actually." Rory admitted. "Things are getting back to normal it seems… well as normal as they could be at Chilton. Tristan kept people from asking questions and Paris was actually nice for once."

Luke chuckled at the last bit of the sentence, having heard a lot about Paris. "That's good."

* * *

This became a constant routine during the following month. Rory spent most of her time at the hospital and so did Luke unless the diner was in dire need of him. If Rory was at the hospital late by herself, Luke would go pick her up or if he was stuck working he would insist that she go to her grandparents' house as he didn't want her driving in the dark or catching a bus that late.

One day, Rory was sat next to her mom like she did every day and was talking to her, hoping she could hear her. It hadn't been a good day for Rory, she didn't know why, it could be she just missed her mom a little more than usual, though she would never admit it out loud or even to herself she had started losing hope, all she wanted was to hear her mom's voice and to see her perfect blue eyes again. "It's been a over a month now. I need you mom. Luke's been great to me, and the grandparents too - looking after me and making sure I'm not alone in the house but you're my mom, you're my best friend. I feel empty without you, I miss you, I miss our talks, I miss our movie nights, our walks around town, our teasing Luke because it just isn't the same when it's just me, no one can think and talk in lateral sentences at the speed you can. Just please… please wake up." She said sadly and she felt a tear slip from her eye falling on her mom's hand.

She decided she needed a break, messaging Tristan that she needed a distraction, and walked out into the reception area only finding the Gilmore's there. Richard had taken it upon himself to settle any medical bills and insurance policies concerning his daughter, he was going over the account that had accumulated, checking that Lorelai was getting the best care possible, Luke and Emily were standing next to him processing everything on the list Richard was holding, interjecting where they could. Tristan had been nearby visiting his dad at work by force, so he had arrived quite promptly, thankful for the escape from his dad's stuffy mahogany filled Lawyer office.

"Hey Rory, thanks for the message." He said giving her a hug, it had become a frequent thing between them. "Are you OK?" he said noticing her eyes a little puffy and red, and the despondent nature in her face.

"Yeah, I will be fine, I guess just miss her a little more than usual today" she said sniffing.

"It's OK to miss her Rory" he said calmly rubbing her back like he did to calm her down, however this kind gesture hadn't gone unnoticed by the adults in the room.

"Rory dear? Who is your friend" Emily said in her fake charming way.

"Um Grandma, Grandpa, this is Tristan. He's a friend from school." Rory said.

"Tristan? As in Tristan DuGrey?" Richard asked.

"Yes sir." Tristan said.

"I've done business with your grandfather and father. Very good men."

"That they are, sir." Tristan said, not quite as convincing but Richard didn't notice.

"Well Tristan, it's very nice of you to come and support Rory. It's good you have such respectable friends, Rory." Emily said giving a sideways glance at Luke as she said that.

* * *

Later that day, Rory was studying up in the diner apartment but was getting bored so she ambled downstairs. She watched Luke from the curtain walking to and fro getting orders and delivering orders. By now, everyone had stopped asking questions as they knew they would get told if anything changed. She then smiled when she saw Luke start arguing with Kirk, it kind of reminded her of when Luke would argue with Lorelai.

"Kirk, you can't have toast with mashed bananas!" He growled.

"Why not? My mom always makes it for me!" Kirk argued.

"Because it's not on the menu and it sounds disgusting!" Luke argued back.

Rory went up to them. "I can make it, if you want." She suggested.

"Rory, you don't need to. Kirk's just being disruptive." Luke said.

"I don't mind, honest! It's actually quite nice… especially with Nutella." She said.

Luke looked at her questioningly.

"Mom used to make them for me when I was younger to cheer me up when dad didn't show up..." She said quietly.

Luke just nodded and pointed to where the bread was.

Rory did Kirk's toast and then she started helping with other orders as well. She found herself enjoying it. It took her mind off other things.

* * *

During that night, Rory and Luke had settled in for the evening at the diner apartment. As always Luke insisted on Rory taking the bed while he slept on the couch, they had turned out the lights not long ago, but because she felt more dispirited than usual all she wanted to do was curl up in a ball and cry, maybe it's what she needed to do; get it out of her system. But she didn't want to do that with Luke in the room, he was being strong for her so she thought she needed to be strong for him in return. When she thought Luke was fast asleep she couldn't contain her sadness anymore, and she quietly cried into the blanket, whilst facing away from Luke.

However Luke wasn't asleep, he had noticed Rory pulling away from everyone today but he didn't know what to do. Once he heard quiet sniffles coming from Rory, he couldn't keep quiet anymore, at that moment in time he was all that girl had and he needed to do something about it. He sat up on the couch whispering out Rory's name.

She was a little shocked knowing he was awake and embarrassed he had heard her. "Oh Luke sorry I woke you, go back to sleep."

Luke sighed at this and got up to turn on the lamp next to the bed before sitting on said bed. He place a hand on Rory's shoulder forcing her to roll over, she did and then sat up. He saw tears streaming down her face, it broke his heart to see her like this at any point let alone now.

"I'm… I'm sorry Luke… I don't know what's come over me."

"Hey… hey now it's OK, I know what's come over you, it's OK, I know you're scared about your mom, the longer this goes on the more scared and sadder you get, its normal." He said taking her into a father-like hug.

"I just wish I was strong for you like you are being for me." She muffled into his chest with closed eyes, this actually comforted her a little.

"Rory, don't try to be like me OK, you have to process things in your own way and time, I've just kind of gone through this before."

"Really? You keep mentioning that but I don't know what you mean."

"Maybe I will tell you one day, but not right now, right now I want you to relax and try get some rest. Do you want me to make you some warm milk? Or maybe that mashed banana crap on toast you said you liked?"

Rory slightly giggled at the memory of this afternoon's Kirk-fest, it's what she referred to when Kirk would be his usual Kirk-self. "Nah I'm OK, I could probably do with some water though."

"I'll just get you a glass" Luke said going off to the kitchen area and bringing her back a glass full. "here you go, so you're OK for now?"

"Yeah I'm OK" she concurred and Luke started to walk back to the couch. "wait…" she said stopping him in his tracks, "can I… can I get another hug" she asked, and it was one of those moments where the 11 year-old Rory flashed before his eyes instead of this 16 year-old near fully grown woman. Luke bent down and enveloped her in another hug and placed a small peck on the top of her head and both said night to one another, before turning out the light and finally sinking into their inevitable slumber.

* * *

The next day, Rory woke up early in the apartment. She turned Luke's alarm off and wrote a note. _**Don't worry about the diner. I'm looking after it for today. You deserve a rest. Rory. X**_ She then went down and started doing everything Luke would do. She and Caesar made a good team and she felt good doing something for Luke. She felt she owed him, especially after her mini-breakdown last night.

Luke woke up and looked at the clock and suddenly sat up quickly. It was 12:30 in the afternoon, he usually woke up around 5 am, but he hadn't been sleeping well at all for nearly a month. Don't get me wrong he felt well rested and well a little more at ease like something good was happening in the air but still he had to question, _Why didn't the damn alarm go off?_ It was then that he saw the note next to his alarm clock. He was touched. He had a shower and got dressed and then went downstairs to find Rory getting on efficiently. He walked up to her behind the counter. "You didn't have to do this. You've got enough on your plate to have to worry about this too." He said.

Rory smiled at him. "So have you but you haven't complained once. I wanted to give you a break and do something for you for a change."

Luke gave her a smile. "Well thanks. I do appreciate it. But you can get off now. Go see your mom. I'll close up early and join you later."

Rory nodded and gave him a quick hug. "See you later." She was about to leave when someone walked through the diner door. She stopped in surprise. "Dad?"

"Hey kiddo..." He said giving her a small smile.

Rory went and hugged him but wasn't really sure what he was doing there.

"Your grandmother rang me, she told me about your mom. I could only just get away from work till now. I was a bit surprised you didn't ring me yourself…" He said.

Rory lowered her head. "I'm sorry dad, I've just been all over the place." She glanced over at Luke who was watching them. He gestured to her to go upstairs and she smiled gratefully. "Come upstairs dad. We can talk there." She said leading him upstairs.

Christopher was a bit surprised but followed her up to the apartment. "You're allowed up here?" He asked.

"Yeah I've been staying with Luke. Didn't grandma tell you?" Rory asked surprised.

"No she just told me about your mom and said I'd probably find you here." He said.

 _Good old typical grandma. Probably hoping to cause trouble between Luke and dad!_ "Oh OK..."

"So how is your mom?" He asked.

"She's in a coma. We don't know when she will wake up, there hasn't been any changes in over a month, but I don't get it she's breathing fine, her heart is good, there is activity in her brain and the bones in her leg are almost healed, all she needs to do is wake up, of course she will be in a lot of physical therapy once that happens but still." Rory said.

"I'm sorry." He said sincerely.

Rory gave him a small smile.

"So how come you're staying with Luke?" He asked. "I thought you'd stay at your grandparents."

"Yeah they offered and I've stayed there a few nights but I sort of wanted to stay in Stars Hollow with my friends and then Luke offered me a place so it sort of seemed right." Rory said, leaving out the part that Luke and her mom had started dating.

"I guess that makes sense." He said, still not really understanding it though.

The door then opened and Luke came in. "Hey, sorry to interrupt but Caesar has offered to close up for me so I have the rest of the time off. I was wondering if you'd like a lift to the hospital?" He said.

"Yeah thanks Luke!" Rory smiled at him.

Luke looked at Chris who wasn't really looking at him very nicely. He didn't have a good impression of him from the things Lorelai had told him and how upset he'd seen Rory when he had let her down yet again but he was willing to be civil for Rory's sake. "Would you like to come?" He asked.

Chris was sort of taken aback by the question. Of course he was going to the hospital, he just didn't understand why this diner man was. "Yeah thanks." He said.

* * *

They got to the hospital to surprisingly, or not surprisingly if you knew them, to find Emily and Richard there. "Christopher! How nice to see you!" Emily smiled at him.

Rory stood next to Luke as her dad greeted her grandparents, not being able to stop thinking this was a set up. She looked up at Luke. "Can we go and see mom? I'll take dad in after." She said quietly.

Luke nodded and they went off to the room.

Chris looked round and saw them walking to a room and his eyes narrowed. He sat with Emily and Richard. "So Rory's staying with the diner guy?" He asked.

"Yes, we offered to take her in as I'm sure Lorelai would have wanted but she insisted in staying with that man, god knows why!" Emily said stiffly.

"Now Emily, Luke has been very good to Rory and Rory told me how she likes staying with him. Let's give him some credit. Let's not forget that he is one of Lorelai's closest friends so this must be affecting him too." Richard said diplomatically.

Emily just huffed. Christopher just stared down to the room where Rory and Luke had disappeared into. _What was going on?_

* * *

Once Luke and Rory did their usual one sided chat with Lorelai, Luke thought it was best to give someone else a turn to visit and he went out to the others telling it was one of their turn, since it was hospital policy to only let two visitors in at a time and Rory was still inside. Emily nervously but quickly ushered Chris forward to have his turn. Luke always being a bit of a wallflower noticed things others didn't, he saw the quick flash of panic in her eyes. He actually did wonder if Emily had been in that room since the first night, whenever he saw her at the hospital it was out here in the public domain.

When it was just the two of them left standing there, Luke decided subtly to broach the subject of Lorelai to the Gilmore Matriarch.

"You know, it's OK if you're scared." He said looking to know one in particular.

"Excuse me?" she retorted.

"I said it is ok if you are feeling scared" he said making eye contact.

"And what would you know about what I am feeling." She said coldly.

"Forgive me Mrs Gilmore for being blunt, but you are human, and your only daughter is trapped in a coma, I understand if you're hesitant of going in there especially from what you saw that first night, But she looks a lot better than did then and you know, if you wanted you could go in there and talk to her, let her know you're there for her, she may or may not be able to hear you but it's worth a shot."

They stood in silence for a minute until Chris walked out interrupting the quiet.

"Uh… I am just… um… gonna find some coffee" Chris said looking down at his feet, even to him seeing Lorelai like that was hard.

Once again the silence filled the room, till Emily decided to speak. "You're right" she said, not daring to look at him. "I am scared, Lorelai and I have never had the easiest relationship and I know what it's like to lose her from when she left with Rory, but now… now it feels different, like this could be the real ending, and I have been racking my brain thinking of what the last words she would have heard me speak but I can't remember, I suppose it was something during an argument, so how could I go in there knowing before all of this we were fighting once again."

"Hey, there is no need to speak like that, she is going to be fine, and sure you may have been arguing but that doesn't mean she wouldn't want you to visit her, try talk to her, I know from experience it will make you feel better… besides think of the advantage where you can say what you want without her interrupting with part of her comedy sketch."

This made Emily smile a little, because Luke did have a point. _I am an adult, a grown woman, and I need to see my daughter_. She nodded to herself as a cue for encouragement and began walking towards Lorelai's room.

* * *

Rory was brushing her mom's hair when he door to the room opened again, Rory looked up. She smiled. "Hey Grandma!"

Emily gave her granddaughter a small smile. "Hi Rory. I was wondering if I could have some time with your mom. I haven't been in here as much as I'd like to have been."

Rory nodded and got up. She hugged her grandmother before leaving the room.

Emily sat down next to Lorelai and took hold of her hand. "Lorelai, darling, my sweet girl" she started, she remembered calling Lorelai those names when she was very very young. "I don't know if you can hear me, I hope you can, but I'm sorry for not coming to see you more often. This time has been tough. For everyone. I was scared, I realized that now, thanks to your friend Luke, I have to admit he is a good man overall." She sighed and let some tears fall. "I know… I know I never tell you this but I am proud of you, Lorelai, I really am. Rory is an amazing girl, she is sweet and caring and so bright and it is all down to you. And I am proud of how far you have come. It may not have been the life I picked out for you but you have achieved so much. You are one of a kind, you are brave, generous, patient, loving - all qualities I wish I had more of but never the less we are cut from different cloths and I am sorry our differences get between us, I will try to be better. So please Lorelai, sweetheart, please… please wake up so I can tell you all of this to your face. Because... I do… I do really love you." She said and suddenly she broke down, sobbing.

* * *

Once Emily had gathered enough composure a lady of her stature should have, she exited her daughter rooms seeking out the nearest ladies room to clean up her face. Rory had seen her grandmother leaving and decided to return to her mother's side. She began reporting everything of past day, how she broke down and Luke comforted her and how she decided to do something nice for Luke by taking care of the diner and letting him sleep.

She sat by her mom, holding her hand. "You should have seen me mom. Caesar actually let me flip a burger! I cooked!" She exclaimed. She sighed when she saw no movement. "Mom, it's been too long. I miss you. Please, please, wake up. Maybe I should try smuggling some of Luke's coffee in here and let you smell it, maybe that would trigger you to wake up" She said sadly. She sighed again when she didn't see any recognition. Suddenly, though, she felt her mom's fingers squeeze hers. Rory looked up at Lorelai's face to see if the hand was just a fluke or a muscle spasm.

"Mom? Mom can you hear me?" Rory exclaimed. _Please please please hear me!_

* * *

 **Please let us know what you think, we like reviews... and pizza, but mainly reviews. XX Louise and Eliza.**


	10. Chapter 10

**_A/N: Wow 10th Chapter. Thank you for all the reviews, and sorry if I have so far played with your hearts a little too hard ;) Enjoy my first milestone chapter, I hope you at least do a little because this chapter may seem a bit weird and maybe a bit repetitive... I dive into Lorelai's head during this whole ordeal so bare with..._**

* * *

 **Previously…**

 **She sat by her mom, holding her hand. "You should have seen me mom. Caesar actually let me flip a burger! I cooked!" She exclaimed. She sighed when she saw no movement. "Mom, it's been too long. I miss you. Please, please, wake up. Maybe I should try smuggling some of Luke's coffee in here and let you smell it, maybe that would trigger you to wake up" She said sadly. She sighed again when she didn't see any recognition. Suddenly, though, she felt her mom's fingers squeeze hers. Rory looked up at Lorelai's face to see if the hand was just a fluke or a muscle spasm.**

" **Mom? Mom can you hear me?" Rory exclaimed.** _ **Please please please hear me!**_

* * *

Lorelai felt weird like she was trapped in a never ending abyss. She tried to open her eyes but couldn't, she tried to move but couldn't, she wasn't aware of her body, it was like it had vanished, though there was some kind of itching where her head and leg were **supposed** to be. She didn't understand, she couldn't remember what had happened. _What was going on? Where am I?_ She thought, _well at least I can still think right? That's good right? Or am I stuck in some looney bin and it's all catching up with me, I'm drugged up and talking to a wall in reality._ She then heard some unfamiliar voices close to her.

"Terrible accident this. She's lucky it isn't worse, no major damage to any organs, her leg will heal eventually, there's plenty or brain activity and she's breathing on her own, in almost every other case similar to this one, they don't make it – that's my medical opinion. My personal opinion; She must be some kind of special or lucky and just looking at her I can tell she is." Said the doctor.

 _Terrible accident? Speeding car? Oh my god, where's Rory? She wasn't with me, was she? And Luke, I was talking to Luke._

"Yes terrible. And that poor daughter of hers. She shouldn't have had to see her mom like this. How are we going to tell her that her mom's in a coma?" Another voice said.

 _Oh thank god, Rory's ok. But a coma? I can't be in a coma, can I? I can hear everything!_ Lorelai tried to speak but she just couldn't. She was scared.

"I don't get how people can just drive away after hitting someone. Especially when they're speeding." The doctor said.

Soon after the doctor left she heard a voice she recognised.

"Mom?...Mommy" It was Rory, she sounded so small, so lost and defeated, like when she was 4 and scraped her hands and knees on the gravel driveway at the inn, It was that memory flashing before her telling her that Rory was hurting and she just wanted to hold her little girl. "I don't know if you can hear me, but if you can I just want you to know, I love you so much."

 _I love you too baby! I can hear you! Please don't cry… I will be fine, I wish you could hear me say this to you!_ Lorelai once again tried to speak or open her eyes but she couldn't. She heard Rory leave and then heard Luke talk.

"Please I know you can hear me, you wouldn't be Lorelai if you couldn't. I just need you to open your eyes. I need you to wake up. Rory needs you. I need you. I love you so much…" His speech touched her so much, he considered Rory in this factor, not just himself, _that's why I love him_. As he kept talking she could feel something radiating inside her caused by his words, but she didn't know what.

 _Of course you know I can hear you, you know everything about me Danes, I need you too, so please have hope, I'll try to find a way._

"…I… I just love you… and I have for a long long time. You're my best friend. Just please be ok. If not for me, then for that girl, for Rory, you mean the world to her, to both us"

 _I love you too, Luke, it took me long enough to realize it so I am not gonna leave this world without trying for more with you. I promise I'm fighting! If only you could hear me!_ She then felt him kiss her, well not a kiss on her end so to speak, but the sense of something warm and loving, it was enough that she felt safe, and she knew Rory would be OK… as long as Luke was around.

* * *

Lorelai didn't know how long she had been like she was but she kept hearing Rory and Luke coming by to see her and surprisingly her parents too... Well her father mostly, if her mom was there she didn't say anything.

As Lorelai laid there, still lost in the dark she couldn't help wonder _is this how Alice felt falling through the rabbit hole? Is this the part where I start questioning where Longitude and latitude is…? Maybe not… Lewis Caroll was high as a kite when he wrote that story._

 _God I am bored… bored bored bored…I could so use some coffee right now, except one problem… you're unconscious! Ergh wake up wake up wake UP!_

 _You'd think with how full my brain is, it would at least give me some epic dreams or visions or something to entertain me…_

 _When is Rory coming? Maybe she is here already, studying or reading, either way somewhere her nose is in a book and I am proud of my little book worm._

* * *

Over the course of time Lorelai had many frequent visitors, she found that many would confide in her and tell her things she wouldn't know otherwise, I guess talking to someone who can't talk back can also be used like a human diary, little did they know she could hear every word. Would she remember what they said if or once she woke up then that's another question altogether.

One day during a Sookie-filled visit, she had 'forced' Michel to come along with her. Sookie had briefly stepped out to call the inn's kitchen to check in on things, So Michel was left there alone. He confessed he missed her at work, she kept him on his toes and annoying and bantering Sookie wasn't the same, also that he hated doing the pay checks and other paper work because it is long and boring. So he really wished she would wake up. She was touched when she heard Michel admit that he missed her annoying the hell out of him.

 _Just you wait Michel! I'll be back and I am gonna tease you so much that you'll wish you never said that!_

When Rory visited she sometimes brought Lane along. She thought if she couldn't have one best friend talk to her she could at least talk to the other. Both girls sat there informing the comatose Lorelai of some gossip they had heard throughout the town but mainly throughout Rory's old digs; Stars Hollow High.

"…They had a very public breakup right before homeroom, then a very public make up during lunch and I suspect they will be happily married by dinner."

"Sounds intense." Replied Rory.

"Yes it was great yet sad at the same time – like Full House meets Cruel Intentions, kind of like a weird John Hughes movie." Gossips Lanes, she then sighs "If only he would stop writing really bad sequels."

"Hear hear to that" said Rory

 _Hey but I actually liked Home Alone 3 it was still as funny as the first two movies_ thought Lorelai.

"OK, so I am done with this hand, should I move onto her feet?" Asked Lane. This particular visit included the girls giving Lorelai a desperately needed manicure and pedicure.

"Yeah sure, oh use the red nail polish"

"Why red?"

 _Because all the bad girls wear red._

"Well all the bad girls wear red, and I've decided mom is being bad for not waking up" Rory said trying to joke but then looked at her mom's face, and then her own fell.

"Rory…" Lane said noticing her friends fallen face, "it's gonna be OK, your mom is the toughest bravest person I know, and I live with Mama Kim! She will wake up just give it time."

 _Atta girl Lane!_

"Yeah I guess…" said a solemn Rory.

 _What do you mean you guess kid? You can't get rid of me that easily._

"Oh and Mama Kim and her bible group have been praying for Lorelai at every meeting, so that's something."

 _Well what do you know, good ol' Mrs Kim does have a heart._

* * *

One night when Rory was late visiting Lorelai could hear a big storm brewing outside, she was a little worried about Rory being miles from home especially since Luke wasn't there, but suddenly she heard a second voice in the room.

"Hey, Grandpa I didn't know you were gonna be here"

 _Dad's here?_

"Hello Rory, still no change?"

"Nope, still no change, she's being stubborn." She attempted to joke.

 _Hey! Don't be mean to mommy in her insentient state!_

Richard gave a small chuckled "That's your mother for you, always has been…"

 _I am right here guys! Just you wait till when I wake up… If only I knew when my body would let that happen._

* * *

It was Luke's confession that was a little shocking… startling… sad mostly.

It started off like his usual visit, he said he had made Rory go back to school to keep routine in her life. He knew what is what like for her, to have someone you love lying in a cold clinical room. He then started to talk about his mom.

"Lorelai, I am doing my best for Rory, I am trying to be strong, especially keeping cool in front of your parents, but I have to admit… it's been hard. I never told you this, but my mom… my mom was in a bad accident when I was 12…"

 _Oh Luke, I knew she was gone but I didn't know how..._

"She was coming home from Litchfield one night and it was a bad night, it was pouring down with rain, the roads were wet, it was dark, she was coming down the 68 and a produce truck had lost control and hydroplaned in front of moms car and she couldn't stop and…well you could guess what happened next" Luke could feel a ball in his throat forming, he didn't want to be emotional, it happened a long time ago.

Lorelai could sense in his voice he was having trouble recounting the story she wish she was awake to tell him it's OK, _Luke you don't have to tell me this._

"… anyway they air lifted her to the hospital, and they did their best to heal her, but she… she was stuck in a coma and after a week of hoping and praying and doing gods knows what, the doctors announced her brain dead, she just couldn't fight anymore, it was too hard she was too broken. I don't remember much from that week, only what I just told you... that, and my dad's face when they said they had to make the call… They turned off her life support and she went peacefully"

 _Oh Luke I am so sorry… but I am not gonna be like that, I am gonna fight through this._

"So I just wanted you to know that. I am doing my best for Rory because I know exactly what she is going through… she is a great kid Lorelai, you should be proud… any way it's getting late I better go, I have deliveries tomorrow, so Rory is staying at your parents tonight, I don't know if you agree with that, I just don't want her alone at any moment. So I'll come by tomorrow, goodnight Lorelai, I love you.

* * *

There was one day, Rory started talking to her again and she couldn't do anything but listen but she was so relieved by what she heard. "It's been over a month now. I need you mom. Luke's been great to me, and the grandparents too - looking after me and making sure I'm not alone in the house but you're my mom, you're my best friend. I feel empty without you, I miss you, I miss our talks, I miss our movie nights, our walks around town, our teasing Luke because it just isn't the same when it's just me, no one can think and talk in lateral sentences at the speed you can. Just please… please wake up."

Lorelai felt a wet drip splosh where she thought her hand would be, she figured it was small enough to be a tear, her heart broke for her darling daughter.

 _I knew I could count on Luke. Please don't lose hope. I'm fighting, I am!_

* * *

Each time they came, her visitors always made her feel even more loved, and the more who visited and said their piece the more she felt better. Like she was a broken puzzle and those people's words were putting her back together, only there were still a few pieces missing.

The day after Rory's latest visit she was surprised to have a visit from Chris as well although he didn't stay long and didn't say much. But that was Christopher for you. She guessed the real questions - the real talk, would come later with Rory out of the room, or when she was awake. But hearing a strain in his voice allowed her to know he couldn't handle seeing her in that way, she was his oldest friend and she heard his footsteps fleeing the room.

Only Moments later she then had a visit from her mom, which really touched her beyond all doubt.

"Lorelai, darling, my sweet girl I don't know if you can hear me, I hope you can, but I'm sorry for not coming to see you more often. This time has been tough. For everyone. I was scared, I realize that now…"

She could hear her mom tearing up. _I can hear you mom, it's OK I swear._

"I know… I know I never tell you this but I am proud of you, Lorelai, I really am. Rory is an amazing girl, she is sweet and caring and so bright and it is all down to you. And I am proud of how far you have come. It may not have been the life I picked out for you but you have achieved so much. You are one of a kind, you are brave, generous, patient, loving - all qualities I wish I had more of but never the less we are cut from different cloths and I am sorry our differences get between us I will try to be better. So please Lorelai, sweetheart, please… please wake up so I can tell you all of this to your face. Because I do… I do really love you."

 _Oh wow! Mom, I love you too even with our differences. I'm trying to wake up, I promise! I am fighting for you, for Rory, for Luke._

She heard her mom leave and then Rory come back in and started talking about helping out at the diner.

… _And it's still standing, Man you are so getting teased about that! Oh I why did you mention coffee I am craving it like crazy!_

What Lorelai didn't realize was her mom talking to her was the last missing piece of the puzzle. She then started to feel her muscles, well some tingles really, in her hand and tried to squeeze Rory's hand and it actually worked, very quickly she could feel the tingles in her whole body, it felt weak but it was enough.

"Mom? Mom can you hear me?" Rory exclaimed. "Please say something! Or… or squeeze my hand again!"

Slowly, her mom's eyes started to flicker and slowly they opened. "Ro..Rory?" she said with a dry throat

"Mom!?" Rory said with tears in her eyes. "Oh my god, you're awake!"

"Hey…sweets… water…" She said quietly.

"Oh sure" handing her mother her water bottle, "I can't believe this, you're OK!"

"Yeah I am OK" Lorelai agreed "What happened though?"

"Oh you don't remember? There was an accident some old drunk was speeding and slammed right into you when you were crossing the street… we are in the hospital by the way if you hadn't caught that much."

"Oh right, yeah that sounds familiar… so how long was I out for?"

"5 weeks, 3 days, 20 hours, and 23 minutes…Mom, I've missed you so much!" Rory said holding her hand tightly and giving her a hug.

"I'm so sorry hon…."

"You've got nothing to be sorry for. You're awake!" She press the call button for a Doctor or Nurse to come to the room, Rory then decided the others needed to know she was awake. When the doctor came rushing into the room he visibly sighed with relief as he saw his patient awake, he immediately went to work examining her, and Rory used that as her cue, "Hang on, mom, I need to get the others! Promise you'll still be awake when I get back!" Rory said still not quite believing it.

"I think I've had enough rest for a while, don't you worry…" Lorelai joked.

Rory grinned. It was still her mom alright. She ran outside to the waiting room, still having tears running down her face. She saw her grandparents, her grandma having re-joined her grandpa, and Luke sat in the chairs, Chris was nowhere in site, he had left... But at that moment it hadn't bothered Rory, all she could think about was her mom who was finally awake and talking. "Luke, Grandma, Grandpa!" She exclaimed.

They all looked up and saw her tears and thought something was wrong.

"What's wrong?" Luke asked worried. _Please don't say something happened!_

"It's mom! She's awake!" Rory exclaimed.

Emily gasped and squeezed Richard's hand, who had tears in his eyes. Luke just sat there in shock – it was safe to say all three of their hearts had just palpitated. Luke had waited over a month for someone to say those words and he didn't like to admit it but he had been losing hope. This whole ordeal reminded him of his mother, and he couldn't do that again but it was getting harder and harder as the days went on and seeing Rory's face with tears just now meant he thought history was repeating, but it wasn't! _Thank God!_

Rory looked back down the corridor seeing the doctor leaving the room, "I'm going back in! I can't believe she's awake!" Rory beamed and ran off to her mom's room again.

Emily, Richard and Luke sat there, not quite believing it. Richard looked over at the stunned Luke, ever since this began he had observed Luke from a distance, he could see he was hurting and that it was painstakingly obvious of his love for Lorelai and Rory. "You go, Luke. She will want to see you." He said gently, he thought Luke deserved it but he also wanted to wait till Emily was ready so he could go in with her.

Luke just nodded but took a moment to stand up.

Meanwhile, Rory had gone back to her mom's room who was still awake. "Oh mom, you have no idea how much I've missed you." She said tearfully hugging her again.

"Baby girl, please don't cry"

"Oh mom these are happy tears, I love you so so so much." Squeezing tighter on that hug.

"Oh Kid, you have no idea. I could hear what everyone was saying but I couldn't respond. I felt like I was enclosed in like a bubble and couldn't do anything about it." Lorelai admitted.

"You could hear us?" Rory said shocked.

"Every word…I think…" Lorelai said sadly. "I'm sorry I caused you so much pain."

"Oh mom, you don't need to be sorry. You're awake!" Rory exclaimed.

Lorelai looked towards the door. "So who is out there?" She asked quietly.

Rory nodded. "Oh grandma, grandpa and Luke… He's been here a lot. He's been great mom. He's really looked after me." She said with such warmth.

Lorelai smiled at the cordiality in her voice. "Well he's always been known for being great."

Rory smiled. They then saw Luke at the door. Lorelai looked at Rory then back at Luke, she could see the relief in his eyes that she was OK. Luke walked over and smiled at Lorelai. "Hey…" He said quietly cupping her face and kissed her passionately on the lips.

"Uh Wow Duke… I never knew we were really that close!"

… _Oh shit!_ thought Luke.

* * *

 _ **Thou Shall REVIEW! :D**_

 _ **Like actually please do, I am anxious on your thoughts for this chapter, and how a tad different it is, so let me know if I have screwed up.**_


	11. Chapter 11

**Previously…**

" **Oh mom, you don't need to be sorry. You're awake!" Rory exclaimed.**

 **Lorelai looked towards the door. "So who is out there?" She asked quietly.**

 **Rory nodded. "Oh grandma, grandpa and Luke… He's been here a lot. He's been great mom. He's really looked after me." She said with such warmth.**

 **Lorelai smiled at the cordiality in her voice. "Well he's always been known for being great."**

 **Rory smiled. They then saw Luke at the door. Lorelai looked at Rory then back at Luke, she could see the relief in his eyes that she was ok. Luke walked over and smiled at Lorelai. "Hey…" He said quietly cupping her face and kissed her passionately on the lips.**

" **Uh Wow Duke… I never knew we were really that close!"**

… _**Oh shit**_ **thought Luke.**

Luke looked startled then his face faltered a bit, he was trying not to give away any emotions. He didn't think about possible amnesia, if there was any it would have ruled out the last hours or even days before the accident meaning none of this declaration of love ever happened in her mind. Both Lorelai and Rory saw the heartbroken look on Luke's face as he pulled away from Lorelai.

"Uh… sorry" he mumbled.

Rory wasn't sure what was going on, she was just excited her mom was awake. "Um… Mom? What was the last thing you remember?"

Lorelai realised then that she maybe… possibly… no probably! Made a tiny, miniscule, micro-sized if you will, mistake… "Luke wait… c'mere" she said beckoning him back to her side.

He did as he was told. But she beckoned him to come even closer. Once he was close enough, Lorelai forcefully pulled him back in front of her face placing a passionate kiss on his tender lips, equal to the one he had given her.

"That. That is the last thing I remember before the accident" she said with a cheeky glint in her eye and a slight giggle in her voice.

Luke dropped his head and breathed out a tension infused breath he had been holding but didn't say anything. _Good to know Lorelai still hasn't lost her sense of humour, especially in the most inappropriate time. But THANK GOD she remembers!_

"Mom!" Rory said. "That's not funny!" she scolded, after all Luke had done for Rory during her mom's stupor, she didn't exactly have much of a sense of humour at the moment.

"You're right, sorry Luke. I was only messing." She said a bit ashamed. She was worried she had angered him or even scared him when he wasn't saying anything. "Luke? Please say something… it was just a joke"

He finally looked her in the eyes, those beautiful blue eyes he had been longing for to see again. "You are impossible, Lorelai Gilmore!" He said and then smirked, giving her another kiss.

"Why thank you!" Lorelai grinned.

Luke chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Why do I put up with you?" sounding exasperated

"Because you love me" she said smiling.

"Lord knows why… but yes, yes I do. I've missed you."

"Okay I'll give you two some space to catch up, I'm just going to call Tristan… and Sookie… and Babette, I'll be back in a bit." Rory said. She gave her mom a kiss on her forehead and another hug before leaving.

Lorelai smiled at her. "See you in a bit hon, don't be too long, I need a serious catch up with my favourite daughter." She said watching her daughter leave. She sighed, knowing how much pain and worry she had caused her daughter and her friends. She looked at Luke. "Thank you." She said sincerely.

"For what?" Luke asked, holding her hand.

"For looking after her."

"She's an amazing kid. It was an easy choice to make." Luke said sincerely.

Lorelai smiled, overcome with love for this man. She then smirked. "So she's calling Tristan now?"

Luke chuckled. "Hey you're getting nothing out of me! That's between you and her!"

"Oh come on!" Lorelai whined. "She's not going to tell me!"

Luke laughed. "All I know is that they're friends, nothing more… yet. He's really been helping her through this."

Lorelai nodded, appreciative of Tristan. "That's good, I'm glad."

"And even Paris has been nice apparently!" Luke smirked.

Lorelai laughed. "Wow that is one for the books! Maybe I should go in a coma more often" She said.

"Don't you dare!" Luke growled, he never wanted to repeat this event ever again. Twice was enough for one life time for Luke Danes.

Lorelai then smiled at Luke. She had missed this. "I've missed you." She said quietly. "I thought I would locked-in my head and be shut off from the world forever. I thought I'd never get to talk to you or see you or your coffee again." She spoke, whilst letting a tear fall.

"Hey…" He said softly, wiping her tear away. "Everything's ok now. You're awake, the hard part is over, now you have to just make a full recovery but you're gonna be fine." He said giving her a kiss on the forehead.

"I need you too, you know." She quietly uttered, referring back to Luke's speech to her from the first night and every other night since then. Luke looked at her surprised she'd heard his breakdown. "I love you so much." She said.

Luke smiled and felt tears in his eyes but kept them back. "I thought I was going to lose you…Like my mom…"

"Well you haven't and I am so so so sorry about your mom, but I am still here, god forbid Lorelai Gilmore and her bad eating, coffee drinking, fast talking, pop cultured referencing, mother of Rory, Luke Danes lover is still alive and well." She said squeezing his hand.

Luke smiled and brought her hand up to his mouth and kissed it. "I'm glad… especially that last part" he said sending her a wink.

They sat for a few minutes just gazing into each other's eyes, thinking about how could they have wasted so much time in the past 5 years, they both were attracted to each other from day one but neither wanted to admit it.

"Oh hey, I got a bone to pick with you though" Lorelai said breaking the comfortable silence. "Since when did you turn Rory into a domestic goddess then eh? At least she's flipping burgers and not cooking any of your horrible healthy stuff you try and push on me! Please don't tell me you've corrupted my baby by making her eat salads and switched her to tea!" Lorelai joked.

Luke laughed. _Yep, Lorelai Gilmore was officially back._

They then heard movement at the door and they saw Emily and Richard standing awkwardly. Luke stood up, he wanted to give Lorelai a kiss but he didn't know if she would want any display of affection in front her parents. "I'll give you some time." He said and then left.

Lorelai smiled after them and looked at her parents. "Hi…" She said quietly.

They came and sat next to her. Richard, who surprised her by taking her hand in his, was the first to speak. "It's so good to hear you talk." He said softly. "You've worried us sick." He said.

"I'm sorry daddy…" Lorelai whispered, overwhelmed by the emotion in her dad's voice.

"Oh no, it's not your fault." Richard said. "It's….It's just good to see you awake."

Lorelai smiled and squeezed his hand, acknowledging his words. She then looked at her mom, who hadn't said anything. "Mom…" She said.

Emily looked at her softly like she would do when she was the tiniest little girl she remembered, she came closer and brushed her hand against her daughter's cheek. "You have no idea how good it is to hear your voice." She said sincerely, trying to choke back the tears.

Lorelai felt tears well up even more in her eyes. "Oh Mommy….um….thanks for what you said." She said quietly. She saw her mom look shocked and then back into being emotional. "Yeah I heard every word."

"I meant every word." Emily said.

"Thanks." Lorelai smiled.

* * *

Meanwhile, Luke had gone out to the waiting room to wait when he saw Rory reappear from her phone call. He smiled at her and sat down. "You get through to them?" He asked.

"Yeah. Sookie and Babette are overwhelmed I am pretty sure I heard them crying when I hung up with them, so the town will know in about 5 seconds, and Tristan is really happy for me." Rory smiled, sitting next to him, noticing the Gilmores were no longer present. "So are Grandma and Grandpa in with mom?"

"Yeah I thought I'd give them some space. It must have been a different kind of scary for them than it was for us" He said.

Rory nodded. She then beamed up at Luke. "She's awake. I can't believe it." She said.

Luke smiled down at her ecstatic face. "Yeah you and me both kid!" He smiled.

Rory smiled. "The doctor said if she woke up there might be some complications, but that trick she played… it was mean, but it means she's still same old mom." She chuckled.

"That she is!" Luke smirked, thinking back to the banter they had just had.

Rory smirked and leant her head on Luke's shoulder as they waited for Emily and Richard to appear. They did after a few minutes.

"Rory, sweetheart, we're going to head off for a bit but we'll be back later." Emily smiled at her granddaughter.

"Ok." Rory smiled and hugged her and then her grandpa.

"It's good to see your mom hasn't given up her comedy, she told us what she just did to Luke." Emily smirked.

Rory giggled and grinned. "Yeah but then it wouldn't be mom otherwise."

She watched them leave and then went back into the room with Luke.

"Hey mom! Wow I can't believe I can say that now and know you'll reply!" Rory beamed.

Lorelai smiled at her daughter. "Hey sweets."

"So talk with Grandma and Grandpa go ok?" Rory asked.

"Yeah, it was nice, great actually." Lorelai smiled.

The doctor came in and smiled. "Well Miss Gilmore, it is very good to see you awake and talking."

"It's good to be awake and talking." Lorelai smiled.

"What happens now?" Luke asked.

"Well we're going to have to monitor you for about a week to make sure everything's ok." The doctor said looking at all the machines. "And when we are satisfied there aren't going to be any detrimental complications then we can make the arrangements to go home."

"Uh… complications?" Lorelai asked.

"Well with a traumatic head injury like yours there is always some sort of aftermath, we will need to see if there are any signs official brain damage affecting, memory, emotions, motor skills. Any clotting, severe headaches causing nausea. Also you've been unconscious for over a month so we will need to rehabilitate your body into moving normally, getting the blood pumping through the muscles to get your strength back. I know it sounds like a lot but its standard procedure so bear with us because we will need full co-operation."

"What about my leg? How long will it take to heal? I've got a job that needs going back to." Lorelai asked.

"I'm afraid it will be a while let. Your leg was badly broken and needs time to heal properly, so you will be wheelchair bound for a couple of weeks, until you've gained enough strength back for the crutches. You will need help getting around and you will need to rest a lot when you go home. I don't suppose you live in a single storey house do you?" She shook her head no. "You've just come out of a month long coma, you need time to rest but with intervals of a safe intensity physical therapy with one of our therapists, I recommend we will start you off on small daily routines, starting in 2-3 days' time, then as you progress with your strength you can then target the therapy on just your leg to a few days a week, then to once a week and hopefully to just once a month." The doctor said.

"But I run an inn! I've already missed a month!" Lorelai said stubbornly.

"Miss Gilmore, you were very lucky to survive this accident. We have seen many people involved in the same sort of accident not make it. Only 10% of people in these accidents will make full recoveries, if you want to be in that percentage you need to take it easy to make sure you feel completely ok before you even think about work. If you want to walk normally ever again you will rest, we don't want to risk a relapse on your leg causing another surgery, if that happens we will have to put your leg in a cage." The doctor said.

Rory looked at her mom, she was overwhelmed and scared with this bombardment of medical speak. "Please mom. Please just rest." She quietly begged.

Lorelai looked at her daughter and saw the upset in her face. "I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking, I promise I'll try my best." She said quietly, looking to no one in particular.

"Sookie and Michel have the inn under control, and Mia is up to date with everything also." Luke told her.

The doctor took this opportunity to leave to fill out a report on Lorelai's initial status. Luke excused himself to go talk to the doctor and Rory followed, saying she needed the bathroom. She saw Luke talking to the doctor.

"She will need help a lot during the day. She won't be able to cope by herself with her leg at the moment, I'm afraid, especially if you guys live in a multi-storey house." The doctor was saying, thinking Luke was actually living with them.

"Oh but I've got school. I can't be with her during the day." Rory said worrying.

"I can help out. I'm gonna build a make-shift ramp for your front porch so it's easier for her when she's in the chair and probably when she has crutches too, especially from what I remember last time she broke her leg and I can help out during the day and at other times if you like." Luke said.

"Really?" Rory said gratefully.

"Yeah I own my own business so that's not a problem and I can sleep on the sofa if you want. She might need help during the night too and I wouldn't want you to have to worry about that." Luke said. "That is, if you wouldn't mind me being there?" He added awkwardly.

"Are you kidding? You've practically been living there for a month anyway! You're a lifesaver, Luke, seriously! I wouldn't be able to cope by myself at all." Rory smiled at him.

Luke smiled back, glad she was ok with it. The doctor left them to it, satisfied with their plans and Luke looked at Rory. "Your mom's not going to like it, is she?" He said.

Rory laughed. "You know mom too well. Don't worry, I've got your back though!" She smirked.

Luke chuckled and they went back into the room.

"You guys left me! Sick of me already?" Lorelai pouted.

"Sorry, I just wanted to talk to the doctor." Luke said.

"Yeah, mom you know how the doctor said you will need help with your leg and stuff?" Rory asked.

"Yeah?" She said looking at them suspiciously.

"Well, I've offered to stay and help you seeing as Rory will be at school during the day." Luke said. "I will even sleep on the sofa if you need help during the night."

"No, I can't ask you to do that Luke. It's too much. I will be fine." Lorelai said stubbornly.

"No Mom! You won't! This was worse than your broken leg before and you had trouble then." Rory said. "I'll worry when I'm at school if you're by yourself. What if you fall over?"

"It's too much to ask. I can't expect you to wait on me hand and foot, Luke." Lorelai insisted. "We…we haven't even had a first date yet…and you're already inviting yourself to staying the night?" She said.

"I know but you need someone, Lorelai. Would you prefer your mother? Because you know she will insist to help out when she hears about it." Luke said.

Lorelai had to smirk at that. "God, I can't believe you two are in cahoots already!" She exclaimed.

Rory grinned and smirked at Luke, who nodded back at her. Lorelai didn't miss this exchange and couldn't help but notice how much closer they seemed.

"So you agree?" Rory asked.

"I don't really have a choice, do I?" Lorelai smirked.

"Nope!" Rory grinned.

"Well the yes, I agree." She sighed. "Are you ok with it though, I know the no man in the house rule we have…?" She added.

"Luke's broken that rule several times and he's been practically living there the past month anyway. It will be sort of weird not having him around." Rory said, glancing at Luke who smiled at her.

"Oh… well Ok then I guess it's sorted." Lorelai said.

* * *

Later that day, Emily and Richard came back to find Rory, Luke and Lorelai talking and laughing in Lorelai's room.

"Hi Grandma, Grandpa!" Rory smiled and went to hug them when she saw them.

"Hello Rory." They smiled at their granddaughter.

They then looked at their Lorelai.

"How are you feeling?" Richard asked.

"Better thanks." Lorelai smiled. "A bit more normal."

"What did the doctor say?" Emily asked.

"Well I have to stay in for at least another week so I get monitored and rehabilitated into the world of the awake and then I will need basically full time help at home because of my leg but my daughter and Luke have already forced me into letting Luke help out." Lorelai said, smirking slightly at Luke.

"Oh. I see." Emily said, somewhat put out but she didn't say anything.

"So Luke will be staying with you?" Richard asked temporarily. They still hadn't found out if they were dating or not.

"Yeah, but I will sleep on the sofa. It's just so Rory doesn't have to worry about her during the night." Luke said.

"Well that seems practical." Richard said. Richard knew his daughter and he knew she was stubborn. He also knew that it would take a lot to get her to agree to some help but he realized that Luke was probably the only person she'd accept it from. Mainly because Luke wouldn't let her say no.

Emily just stood there and gave them a forced smiled. She really wanted to help, but she also wanted to get to the bottom of this man's relationship with her daughter.

* * *

 **Soooo... yes I am evil and thank you for saying that (it was all Louise, Eliza had nothing to do with that last ending). But your reviews made my day (especially yours Nancy = hilarious) So Please...readers...please please please please Review!**

 **E & L xx**


	12. Chapter 12

Sorry it's been a bit of a wait, I have no excuses I just suck.

* * *

 **Previously…**

" **So Luke will be staying with you?" Richard asked temporarily. They still hadn't found out if they were dating or not.**

" **Yeah, but I will sleep on the sofa. It's just so Rory doesn't have to worry about her during the night." Luke said.**

" **Well that seems practical." Richard said. Richard knew his daughter and he knew she was stubborn. He also knew that it would take a lot to get her to agree to some help but he realized that Luke was probably the only person she'd accept it from. Mainly because Luke wouldn't let her say no.**

 **Emily just stood there and gave them a forced smiled. She really wanted to help, but she also wanted to get to the bottom of this man's relationship with her daughter.**

On their journey back to the mansion, The Gilmore's were quiet but Emily's mind was not. Her thoughts were all over the place, she was happy and overwhelmed her daughter finally awoke and equally glad for Rory too, she was a little sad that Lorelai didn't want her help, not that she had offered it… yet, but more annoyed this Luke man was intervening with her daughters and granddaughters life once more. She was uncertain of him, as a man, Emily thought Luke had good morals and was very kind, he knew what he wanted, what he valued and it showed in his character, but as a man suited for her daughter, she couldn't possibly approve... could she?

She was grateful for his help and despite her longing to be in that position to help her daughter, she knew Lorelai wouldn't let her, not that that was going to stop her helping in one way or another. But the same question kept burning in her mind over and over, what was the relationship status between Lorelai and the diner man? In the past she had seen them act like more than friends especially listening to Lorelai's stories week after week which almost always included a mention of Luke. She had seen them act like jumped up school teenagers too shy to make a move but figured that something was there, through to an old married couple who know every in and out, up and down, best and worst of each other and still deeply in love. Not knowing which one of these frustrated her.

The silence in the car was broken by her husband's voice, "penny for your thoughts my dear?"

"Hmm? Oh Richard… it's nothing, was just thinking about Lorelai, that's all" she replied not so convincingly.

"You mean Lorelai… and Luke", he stated, it wasn't a question. She just looked at him _, how did he know?_ He could read her like one of his books in his grand study and it amused him that she hadn't figured it out by now. "Oh come now Emily dear, I've known you for a very long time, I know that is what you are thinking about."

She sighed in defeat "I am just not sure about him, I don't know what is his and Lorelai's relationship and I am not sure I like it."

"Oh Emily, we mustn't think of that, not right now anyway, we should just relish in the fact that Lorelai woke up today and from what we can tell she is going to be OK. Besides Luke comes across as a kind, decent, strong back-boned man and I am for one, appreciative for all his help over the past month and for what is to come. Whereas if you look at Christopher, whom I know you're fond of, you told him almost immediately after the accident about Lorelai, but he only came just today and stayed less than five minutes. So please, my dear, do me a favor and not think about it anymore this evening." He says, lifting her hand to his face and placing a kiss on said hand whilst keeping an eye on the road.

"I suppose you're right, I'll try my best".

* * *

Over the week, well nearly two, after Lorelai waking up, both Gilmore girls had many tests to overcome. Rory was caught up in studying for her sophomore year's final exams that were only weeks away, just one step of reaching her goal to the ivy leagues and Lorelai's were all about her one current goal of being able to go home. She was never one for being able to sit still, and found herself itching beyond belief to leave the sterile walls of Hartford memorial.

She had had a few rounds of physical therapy in attempts to gain her strength back but she was limited with her leg, mainly having to focus on upper body and core exercises, only doing merely minutes of walking exercises with a great deal of help gripping the parallel bars, and one thing she was sure of, _Gilmore's don't do exercise!_ She thought the doctors were being over careful and that she didn't need the full body exercises but once she arrived and began she was surprised with how her body had grown weak over the past 5 weeks.

Nonetheless Lorelai, as always, was determined.

Rory was walking out of school on a Friday afternoon in high spirits because her mom was doing well and getting closer to finally coming home. She had been studying hard, preparing for her first round of Chilton finals, she was feeling confident about them, her spirits were high because of her mom, Paris was too occupied studying to torment her, Luke was just being the Luke she loved and things with Tristan seem to be good.

As she reached the front gate, suddenly she stopped. She saw Dean standing by his car. Feeling ambushed and anxious she slowly approached him, not knowing why he was looming there after so long without contact. Sure she had seen him around town, it's a small town and he works in the only market but neither had uttered words since the firelight festival.

She didn't know what to say to him only wanting to know the logistics of his visit. "What are you doing here?" Rory asked.

"I heard about your mom waking up. It's great." He said giving a coy smile.

"Um thanks. Yeah she's coming home soon, hopefully." She said.

"Oh that's good. Look I am sorry I haven't talked to you since that night but after everything with your mom, I just wanted to give you some space Rory. I knew you would be suffering with everything that happened but I missed you Rory. I should never have broken up with you and I am so sorry." He said cautiously coming close attempting to place a hand on her shoulder.

Rory was shocked and as soon as she felt his touch she recoiled two steps back. "Dean….I can't…." She said.

"Why not?"

"I just can't… now's not the time…"

Just then, Tristan came walking over, he had seen the Sasquatch known as Dean and felt the need to see if Rory was alright or if she needed his help. "Hey Rory, are we still good for later?" He asked.

Dean's eyes narrowed. "Oh I see! You're going out with him now!"

"What? No- " she said but Tristan cut her off.

"Hey farm boy how's it going? Milk the cows today? Feed the chickens?"

That irritated dean even more, "Dude, not that it is any of your business but I am from Chicago!"

"Chicago huh? Well just looking at yeah I can tell where they got inspiration for the sears tower then." He said goading him.

"Tristan stop" Rory said grabbing his arm pulling him slightly away form dean, it wasn't exactly a demand but she didn't want a fight to break out.

Dean noticed this simple action, and he was pissed "Wow Rory, you must have moved on quickly! Geez! No wonder you couldn't tell me you loved me!" He said angrily.

"I'm not going out with Tristan!" Rory said getting upset. "And you can hardly talk! You were kissing a cheerleader the day after we broke up!" So much for you saying you loved me!"

"She threw herself at me! I pushed her off!"

"Whatever, Dean! We're over!"

"So that's it then, how long did you even wait before running into his arms!" he said jabbing a thumb into Tristan's direction, Rory's eyes followed where he was pointing but she wasn't look at Tristan she had noticed a crowed had formed around the trio, and she wanted out of there.

"How many times do I need to say it, we are not together! And I need to go. I'm meeting Luke at the hospital." She said. She turned to Tristan. "I'll see you later."

She began walking off but Dean wasn't finished "You expect me to believe you two aren't together, what are you doing later huh? Meeting up at his mansion or just using the back seat of his car? Like mother like daughter right?" Well that certainly got her attention, Dean knew Rory wasn't that kind of girl he was just angry and the words just spilled out.

Rory stopped and turned back to him, now she was angry "What. Is. That. Suppose. To. Mean!"

"It means, nobody has a kid at 16 without having a reputation!"

Everyone in the crowd gasped at this, they knew of Lorelai's age when she Rory and didn't think much of it knowing Rory what Rory was like and they had heard about Lorelai from Madeline and Louise. Before Rory could retaliate, Tristan's fist came in contact with Deans jaw bone, all hell was about to break loose but everyone began to disperse when they heard a staff member demanding what was going on and Rory just had to walk away quickly before she was caught up with interrogations by Charleston.

* * *

Rory got to the hospital all upset, her mind was confused and angered by dean and Tristan, it was a proper teenage dilemma, well not dilemma but she was in desperate need for a vent session and hopefully gain some wise advice... she really needed a talk with her mom.

She walked the overly familiar hallways and went to the normal room her mom had laid in for nearly two months but froze when she found the bed empty. She started to panic, she was breathing short and rapid and felt like she was choking, her eyes were welling up and she felt like she couldn't hear anything. _Where was she? What's happened?_ Before she could help it, tears were well and truly running down her face. She ran out of the room and saw her mom's nurse who she had had many talks with in recent times.

"HEY!….my mom!...where is she!" She demanded.

The nurse saw the state and stood coming out around from her station attempting to try calm Rory down. "Woah, woah, woah, Rory, what's wrong?"

"WHERES MOM! She isn't in her room, she is always in that room! She's being doing well! Where is she?" Rory panicked, her breathing was erratic and her body was shaking, and the nurse recognized it as a panic attack.

"I'm sure there's an explanation. I will go and find out. Just try and calm down, just try to take deep breaths." The nurse said sympathetically.

Luke then appeared and saw Rory in tears. "Rory?" He said rushing to her side, enveloping her in a concerned hug "hey, hey what is wrong?" he saw the nurse standing there and looked at her for an explanation whilst Rory shook in his arms.

The nurse saw his look and explained "she came and saw her mom not in her room, and it looks as if she is having a panic attack."

"Oh, well where is she? Is everything alright, I was here at lunch and she seemed fine" Luke asked

"Oh yeah, she's just spent the last few hours having more tests done, and in physical therapy and then she needed to have an updated CT scan, she should be back anytime now."

"You hear that Rory?" he said rubbing calm circles on her back as if she was 5 years old, "She's just getting looked over for one last time before she's allowed to come home. She's fine, I promise" Luke comforted her.

Rory let out a big breath. "Oh…" She said quietly still shaking as her sudden attack died down. She sat down feeling embarrassed. "I should have realised. I just saw she wasn't there and I freaked out…"

"It's OK. It's natural. Here drink this" The nurse said handing her some water. "She should be out soon. Are you OK?" she asked, it was a common reaction from family members who have experienced what Rory had, and she had admired how well Rory had handled things thus far. She noticed her uniform and knowing the time of the year she thought Rory had been over exerting herself with studying and being with her mom, not really finding time to take care of herself by sleeping or eating properly, so of course she was going to go off eventually.

"Yeah, I am fine, just a lot has happened so…" she trailed off

"It's OK, I understand, I have to get back to my station, but Luke is here with you. Let me know if you need anything."

Both Rory and Luke gave her an appreciative smile. "So Rory, be honest with me, is everything OK? You seemed fine when I walked you to the bus stop this morning." Luke questioned.

Rory sighed. "Dean showed up after school, and he and Tristan kind of got into it a bit" She said.

"Dean? Oh, I thought you hadn't talked to him for a while?" Luke said.

"I hadn't. He was waiting outside school for me though and I couldn't avoid him. He told me he was glad mom was better and then he went on to say he'd missed me and he shouldn't have ever broken up with me." Rory said. "But then Tristan turned up and Dean went mental assuming we were going out and saying all sorts. It was horrible to be honest" She said sadly. "I just needed to talk to mom and then I came and she wasn't here…"

"Well what did he say?" Luke asked, he still didn't like Dean and now he had caused Rory to be upset.

"It's not worth repeating but basically he thinks I ran straight into the arms of Tristan after breaking up with him and insinuating… you know… and then said 'like mother like daughter'"

"What! He said that to you? God wait until I see that punk!"

"Luke, calm down, it's fine, I don't think he meant it, he was just angry I guess… besides Tristan already took care of it." She said, saying that last part with a smirk.

Luke nodded. He then looked up. "Hey look! There's your mom." He said seeing her mom being wheeled down the corridor.

Rory looked up and ran and hugged her. "Mom!" She said.

"Hey sweets!" She smiled, but then she noticed the red puffiness in her daughter's eyes and the tracks of tears down her face. "Hey, sshhhh… babe what's wrong?" she said rubbing her back.

"Oh I just had a bad day and I really needed to talk to you, but I came here and you were gone, and I got scared, guess I just freaked out thinking something happened to you"

"Aw hon, nothing's happened, its OK I am here"

"I know, I was just being stupid."

"You? Never! So what happened at school that made you have a bad day?"

"Oh I will tell you about it later, are you coming home soon?" Rory asked.

"I don't know I hope so." She smiled.

"How does tomorrow sound?" Said the doctor who came in hearing the end of that conversation.

"Really!?" Said both Lorelai's with Cheshire cat grins.

"Yeah really? Is she ready for that" Luke said apprehensively, as much as he wished she was better so they could start their relationship properly, he didn't want to push her too fast.

"Luke, don't rain on our parade!" Lorelai said, she was too eager to get back to her life.

"Yes, she is actually" stated the doctor "your recent tests and scans came back the best we've seen, and your PT is happy with your progress and is making arrangements to work with you at your home every second day so you only have to come in once a week for a full progress testing, You're out of the woods Miss Gilmore, but there is still a journey to go, remember that."

"I will but going home sounds awesome, I am so ready to blow this Popsicle stand" Lorelai declared.

Her doctor had to chuckle at her jovial vernacular, "I bet you are, well I best see to my other patients, but congrats on how well you are doing, it's good to see you motivated, it's not exactly common with post-comatose patients" and then he left the room, leaving the family celebrate over Lorelai's impending homecoming.

* * *

Later that evening after visiting hours has finished for the day, Luke and Rory arrived back at the crap shack, they were tired, the past almost two months suddenly had caught up with them since they were told of Lorelai's release the next day, so they were tired… but elated.

A soon as they walked through the door, Rory had headed for the phone, she felt it was her duty to inform her grandparents that her mom was coming home tomorrow afternoon, in case they had stopped by to visit, also Emily would have her and Luke's heads if she wasn't updated. To Rory, Emily sounded happy that Lorelai was well enough to come home, but still she wanted to help, which she fully intended to do and now she had a date and time her plan could be set in motion.

Rory got off the phone and settled down on the couch with a book while Luke was cooking dinner in the kitchen when the doorbell suddenly rang and Rory went to answer it. "Oh hi!" She said surprised but happy to see Tristan. "I wasn't expecting you until a bit later."

"Yeah I know, sorry. I just wanted to make sure you were OK after everything with Dean and I figured you'd be here as soon as visiting hours were over." He said.

Rory smiled. "Thanks. I'm fine. Come on in, have you eaten? She said bringing him in.

Luke then came out from the kitchen when he heard voices. "Tristan." He said acknowledging the teen.

"Hey Luke." Tristan nodded.

"Are you staying for dinner?" He said.

"Sure if that's no problem?" Tristan said.

"No, no problem at all." Luke smiled.

Rory smiled, glad that Luke liked Tristan, well actually his friendly nature for this evening was due to the shiner Tristan had put on Deans face, saved him from having to do it himself and being charge for assaulting a minor.

Rory took Tristan to her room, she could tell he wanted to talk, and to do so in private. She thought back to Dean's accusations and honestly she didn't really know if anything was happening between them but during the past month, she had grown to really like Tristan. He was a completely different person to the guy who hassled her every day at school.

"So are you OK really? Dean shouldn't have shouted at you like that, and he especially shouldn't have talk about you or your mom like that, no one should." Tristan said as they sat on her bed.

"Yeah, I just wasn't expecting to see him and hear him saying things, particularly those things, I never thought he would go there. But then I got to the hospital and had a panic attack, but now I am feeling happy because mom is being discharged tomorrow, so it's been an eventful few hours."

"Oh wow that's great Lorelai is coming home…Wait you had a panic attack? Because of dean-"

"No" she quickly cut him off "when I got there mom wasn't in her room and I just freaked out, like something just suddenly hit me, that I had almost lost her" Rory looked down but then chuckled and looked back at Tristan. "I must have looked a state!"

Tristan chuckled. "But you're OK now?"

"Yeah I'm OK." She confirmed, looking at him. "What about you though? Are you OK?"

"Oh yeah, I am fine" he said no so convincingly.

"You didn't get in trouble for hitting Dean did you?"

"Please, like I would get into trouble for that, He was trespassing on school grounds and it was outside of school hours, besides anyone around us would have done the same thing."

"Yeah thank you by the way… for defending mine and my mom's honor, Luke thanks you too" she said giving him a small smile, which he returned, but she still noticed something was bothering him."

"Any time, what can I say I like being the hero." He said to which they both chuckled at. But the silence grew upon them again.

"So are you going to tell me the truth" she asked which he looked confused at. "Tristan tell me what's really bothering you?"

He grimaced at the thought of telling her what was really on his mind, but he needed to try anyway. "It's just something you said earlier, at school… You kept saying we aren't together, and I know we're not, but…" he trailed off

"But what?" Rory was curious as to where this was going.

"But… Rory" He said staring into her piercing blue eyes "I really like you, OK… And I am glad we've become friends and gotten closer over the past couple months, but I guess when you said those words to Dean, something just hit me I guess…. It's stupid, I'm sorry, I should go." He said rushing to stand up, she had never seen him this flustered.

"Wait Tristan!" she stopped him standing up too facing him, looking him in the eye "It's ok, it's not stupid, I've been thinking about it too recently… and I think I…" her thoughts were lost as gravity forged them closer and closer until his lips collided softly against hers…

They were suddenly interrupted by Luke knocking on the door to say dinner was nearly ready, which caused them to jump apart immediately.

"Thanks Luke! We'll be right there!" Rory called through the door with a red face.

"So is Luke going back to his place after tomorrow?" Tristan asked.

"Nah, not for a while, he's going to help look after mom. I hope he doesn't go home for a while actually, it's nice having him around, and he doesn't have anybody else so it will be good for both of them, well that's what I think anyway" Rory stated.

* * *

The next day, Rory had spent most of the time restless, she couldn't wait to see her mom and bring her home, she decided to clean as best as she could. Around Lunchtime Luke came back from the diner to head back to the hospital bringing Lorelai some food and some comfy clothes, that were far better than the scratchy paper-like gown she had been forced to wear.

The doctor was going over every possible detail to Luke, Rory and Lorelai, in order for her to continue her smooth recovery. She mustn't work for at least another 3 weeks due to her head injury then after that she could try a few days a week so long as she took it easy and stayed off her leg. Until then she had to remain on bed rest, or stay in her wheel chair at least till she was strong enough to use crutches. The doctor started mentioning her diet, which should be watched over instead of normal carefree one she had been living on. It wasn't till now Lorelai had said anything.

"What about coffee, can I have coffee!?" she asked

Luke stood there, arms folded, eyes rolling "No Coffee!" he declared.

The doctor as well as every nurse and orderly in that wing had learnt the hard way about his patients coffee addiction so he found the banter between Luke and Lorelai amusing. "You may have _some_ coffee, but do not – and I mean DO NOT have anywhere near as much as you were having before the accident, not at first anyway, try mixing in some decaf too."

Lorelai sighed in frustration "ergh fine, I'll take what I can get."

"Good, so that should be all then, you have all the plans for the therapy sorted, you know when your next appointments are and all the warnings to take it easy and still rest, so I will just get the discharge papers and let you get dressed and we should be home free."

"YES! Let's gets discharging!" Lorelai said thrusting a fist in the air.

* * *

Soon Lorelai was driving through stars hollow, looking at everything and everyone in attempt to reconnect the place she loved and had been absent for nearly 2 months. They pulled up outside the crap shack and she smiled longingly at the place she called home. She noticed the ramp hooked on to her front porch and couldn't help feel indebted to Luke once more. Once everyone was inside everything looked as if she remembered, except one thing…

"What the…?" Lorelai said shocked, looking at Luke and Rory.

"It wasn't me, it wasn't here when we left. It must have been…." He started.

"My mom… this screams Emily all over" Lorelai sighed.

What they saw was a rented hospital bed in the middle of the living room, it was an electric one that you could adjust the heights, making it easier for Lorelai to get in and out of bed, but it wasn't her bed, that she had missed.

"We did need one though, to be honest." Luke said.

"I guess… but I was so looking forward to you carrying me upstairs and tucking me in every night" Lorelai said.

"I bet you did" he replied gruffly.

"Think of it this way mom, you're closer to the TV, kitchen and both me and Luke, since he will be on the couch and refuses to sleep in a perfectly good bed upstairs." Rory said.

"Hey Rory we already discussed that, but you're right, this will be easier on all of us, so thank your mother when you get the chance."

"Fine, I suppose it will do" she said, giving in.

Luke helped her over to the sofa and sat her down, Rory had hired some movies to have a long overdue movie night, and soon they were all eating and having a really nice evening. Rory watched the normal banter between her mom and Luke and she smiled. She had missed that so much and she was so happy her mom was finally home. They can finally move on with their lives, and Luke and Lorelai could properly begin their relationship, even if she was bed ridden still.

* * *

 **Bit long, bit of filler, Bit of douchey Dean... so REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! XX**


	13. Chapter 13

**Previously…**

" **Think of it this way mom, you're closer to the TV, kitchen and both me and Luke, since he will be on the couch and refuses to sleep in a perfectly good bed upstairs." Rory said.**

" **Hey Rory we already discussed that, but you're right, this will be easier on all of us, so thank your mother when you get the chance."**

" **Fine, I suppose it will do" she said, giving in.**

 **Luke helped her over to the sofa and sat her down, Rory had hired some movies to have a long overdue movie night, and soon they were all eating and having a really nice evening. Rory watched the normal banter between her mom and Luke and she smiled. She had missed that so much and she was so happy her mom was finally home. They can finally move on with their lives, and Luke and Lorelai could finally properly begin their relationship, even if she was bed ridden still.**

* * *

One morning, Lorelai woke up to the smell of food wafting through from the kitchen, it eerily smelt like the diner, which would explain her weird dream she was just having.

She looked over at the sofa and found Luke not there, only some rumpled blankets. She smiled to herself, knowing exactly what he was doing. Just at that moment, Luke came in still in his pajamas, his face screamed exhaustion from tending to Lorelai's aid as she needed help to the bathroom in the unholy hours of the morning. He was carrying a tray with a plate of food and a small cup of what she hoped to have coffee in it. She had tried being good with her dietary intake for the doctors sake but mainly for Luke, he had switched around his whole daily routine just so he could be with her.

"Aw you made me breakfast in bed!" Lorelai grinned.

"I thought it would be nice. And yes that is normal coffee… mostly, I mixed in some decaf to take the edge off, I'm still not giving you as much as I normally do." Luke said.

"My hero!" Lorelai teased and took the tray from him. "I know I was unconscious most of the time in hospital, but that week I wasn't, the food alone was enough incentive of breaking out of there and rolling down the highway to Luke's because Oh my god I've missed your food!" She said starting to devour it.

Rory then appeared from her room. "Morning mom!" She smiled walking over placing a peck on her cheek.

"Morning hon! Look what Luke did for me!" She grinned.

"Aw that's so sweet! Looks so good I could eat it myself" Rory teased, making Luke turn a pale shade of red but also knew she was subtly hinting at asking where her plate was.

"You've got a plate waiting for you in the kitchen. That is assuming you'd have time to eat it before school." Luke said to her.

"Yay!" she exclaimed and gave him to a peck on his cheek too. "I think I'm going to enjoy having you stay here!" Rory joked and went to the kitchen, the truth was she dreaded the day her mom got the all clear to be capable and healthy enough to live on her own, well enough so that she didn't need Luke 24/7, she was so use to having him around; having a father figure around… she never wanted him to ever leave.

* * *

After about 15 minutes, the doorbell rang. Luke went to answer it. "Oh hey Tristan, you here for Rory?" He greeted him, letting him in.

"Yes sir, is she ready?" He asked coming inside to the living room, smiling at Lorelai.

"She should be. I think she was just finishing breakfast, go ahead and check in her room." Luke said who then went to get Lorelai a glass of water and her medication.

Tristan did as Luke told, almost bumping into Rory as she exited her bedroom. "Oh hey!" She smiled. "Was I expecting you?"

"Well no, but I thought I'd accompany you on the bus." He smiled.

"You drove 30 minutes out here in your own car just to take the smelly bus with me?"

"Yeah then we can bus back together and work on that 'school project' together" he said tantalizingly going in for a kiss.

"Oh really? Well if you insist" she said returning the kiss "OK Well I'm ready now! Bye mom, Bye Luke!" She smiled at them and how Luke was sitting on the bed with her mother.

"Bye hon! Have a good day." Lorelai smiled.

"See ya Rory!" Luke said.

Lorelai watched them leave, _glad to have the old Rory back, who am I supposed to thank first? Tristan… Or Luke?_. "So it seems like they're going well…" She smirked.

"Yeah I guess so." Luke said. Rory had told them both about the kiss and the fact that she really liked him and they had agreed to start dating, but that is as far as that news went, well with the exception of Lane. Luke's head had gone into protective mode again, he couldn't help it _I swear if that pretty rich boy does anything to hurt my Rory then that would be the end of him._

"So what are we going to do today?" Lorelai asked enticingly.

"Well I don't know about you, but I have errands to run, check in on things for the diner and stuff like that, I was gonna ask Babette to stay with you while I was out."

"Ooh can I come, I wanna help and I haven't seen the diner in forever!"

"Really, it would just be me doing boring stuff, working you know?"

"I love watching you work! Please, Luke, please please please, I am SOOO bored in this bed, I need to get some fresh air, I am starting to get cabin fever, I'll then forget what it's like to be outside and freak out and become one of those creepy pod people's suffering from agoraphobia and watch the shopping network waaay too much and accumulate to much stuff, becoming a hoarder and Rory wouldn't like that and leave me, so I will be all alone and one day a giant pile of stuff will come tumbling down crushing me from existence."

Luke had to give her credit in her ability to ramble on and on, coming up with the most ridiculous scenarios, but nevertheless getting her out of the house might do her good. "OK OK OK, geez, I'll take you with me, but you're going in your chair, no arguments."

"Fine" she said stubbornly "but you're pushing me… it will be like my humble servant driving me around whilst I am perched in my majestic throne; looking fabulous I might add, so glad Rory and I bedazzled up the chair, just gotta work on the crutches now."

"If you say so" replied Luke taking the breakfast tray away, muttering under his breath about the servant comment, but really he was happy to do it if it meant she stayed on plan with her recovery without relapses so they could both get back to their daily routines but also push on through with their relationship because there was no way either was ever going back, this was it for them, though neither admitted it out loud, they and everyone else knew it.

* * *

After a week of being home, Lorelai was getting really frustrated with her leg and how weak she felt, being practically chained to the stupid hospital bed, rolling about in her chair, but even more frustrated with her physical therapy. It was a slow process, one that was testing Lorelai's patience. She had tried using crutches when she needed to use the bathroom late in the night, or morning depending how you looked at it, she didn't want to wake Luke, the man was exhausted and she felt guilty. Despite her work focusing on her upper body strengthening it still wasn't enough, she couldn't hold herself up for long, and her weight on the crutches came tumbling down, she collapsed on the floor and her crutches had made a giant clacking noise waking up both Luke and Rory in the process.

In a blur of panic and confusion, shaking off what was left of their REM cycle, they questioned what had made the noise and when they spotted Lorelai pushing herself into sitting position, they rushed to her aid. She insisted she was fine she just slipped and immediately sent Rory back to her bed, which she obediently did even though her mind screamed of fear and questions.

Luke helped her to stand, concerned but furious she didn't try to ask for his help. "Lorelai what were you thinking!?" he bellowed.

"Uh, that its 3am and I needed the bathroom."

"Well why didn't you wake me? I would've helped, that's what I am here for; god you scared me!" he said walking her back to the bed.

"I'm sorry! I didn't want to wake you, and I am an adult, not a toddler, not an invalid… I just thought I could try on my own, I thought I would be strong enough by now, but obviously I was wrong! I am just so sick of this!" She screamed, tears began to fall, the frustration she had been building up was now, shall we say, exploding.

"I am sick of not being able to do things on my own, like going to the bathroom, or getting the mail. I want to get out of this house more, I want to be able to go to work, I want to drive my car, see you at the diner, not depend on you or anyone else 24/7, I just want to live my life the way I intended to live it!"

Luke stood in front of her, she looked and felt like a broken women and it crushed him to see the famous Lorelai, his Lorelai, so despondent. "Hey… it's going to be OK" he said calming tone, cradling her in his arms as she cried. "These things take time, and I am here to help, you just gotta be patient."

"You're right... I know I have to be patient but god I am just tired, and I know you are too, and that what sucks, that you've put your life on hold for me, I am grateful for it but still…

"Lorelai. You are my life, you know, as corny as that sounds, but I would do anything for you and Rory, OK. So let's get you to the bathroom and then you can get back to sleep and we will come up with some kind of plan in the morning, how does that sound?"

Lorelai just sniffed and nodded letting the last tears fall. He took her to the bathroom and then both snuggled together on the hospital bed, Luke had his arm protectively around her waist, but Lorelai struggled to get back to sleep. She felt like she was being a burden to Luke, she felt like she didn't deserve him, she felt like she was already in too deep with this man and they hadn't even had a date, never mind sex.

But when Luke was making plans in his head for all of this to be easier on his girl, one plan he decided to keep to himself was a surprise he thought Lorelai would enjoy, the first date she longed for.

* * *

It was Saturday, the day Luke's surprise finally began to be set in motion. He was up making breakfast as usual for his girls when Rory came in having just woken up.

"Morning Luke!" She smiled.

"Hey Rory! Did you have a good sleep?" He smiled back.

"Yeah, is Mom still asleep?"

"Yeah she was wiped after therapy yesterday, she's determined and it shouldn't be too long till she doesn't need her chair at all.

"That's good, but I am going to miss Tina."

"Tina?" _these girls and naming every inanimate object…_

"Yeah like Tina Turner… because the big wheels keep on turning?… rolling down the river?… please don't make me sing it." said Rory not sure if Luke was getting it.

He smirked at this of course he got the reference, he wasn't a total recluse. "Yeah I got ya. Hey listen I sort of need your help with something… are you free today?" He asked.

"Sure! What is it?" She asked.

"Well you know how your mom's been a bit down and frustrated at the moment… I gather you heard her slight meltdown the other night…" He started.

"Yeah." She said sadly. She felt sorry for her mom.

"Well I was thinking of maybe cooking her a meal for this evening and making it sort of special…" He said getting a bit awkward.

"Aw what like your first official date?" Rory smiled.

"Well yeah…." He said slightly embarrassed.

"Aw Luke she'll love that. But what do you need my help with?"

"I was wondering if you could maybe entertain her later so I can set up the living room for what I had in mind. Maybe take her over to Sookie's or something?" He asked.

"Yeah sure! And don't worry, I'll stay at Lanes tonight so I'll be out of your hair too." She said.

"Oh no, I don't mean to push you out." Luke said worried.

"Luke, it's your first date. I don't want to interrupt you or make you feel like you have to censor yourself, I know you well. Anyway, I said I'd go over to see Lane already so its fine. I haven't really had much time to hang out with her because of everything."

"OK, if you're sure."

"I'm sure." Rory smiled. She went to leave before Luke stopped her again.

"Um, do you know if your mom has any candles?" He asked.

Rory smirked. "Yeah cupboard in the hallway and there's more in the upstairs bathroom." She said, knowing Luke was going to go all out. She was happy that he was doing it all for her mom. She deserved it.

* * *

That evening, Rory had brought her mom back from Sookie's after getting the all clear from Luke. When they arrived into the living room, they both gasped. Even Rory was amazed by the effort Luke had gone to. He moved the coffee table, and laid down some blankets and cushions like a cosy makeshift picnic set up. Lorelai's eyes went to the luscious vibrant bouquet of red roses sitting in a vase next to the blanket, she then noticed the lights were off but the room was dimly lit with possibly every candle in the house and the fire place was roaring even though it was near the end of spring. Luke then appeared from the kitchen.

"Luke…." Lorelai said amazed. "What…" she was lost for words.

"I thought maybe we could have our first date? We've waited long enough." He smiled and walked over to her.

Lorelai couldn't believe it and felt tears well up in her eyes. She looked at him. "Thank you." She said sincerely and kissed him.

"OK, that is my cue, I'm going to take off before I see more than I should!" Rory joked.

"Hey hush you!" Lorelai grinned at her daughter, knowing she must have been in on it.

"Enjoy your evening!" Rory smiled and gave her a hug before leaving.

Luke helped Lorelai out of the chair and hobbled over to the blankets and they both sat down where an ice bucket with a bottle of champagne awaited them. Luke began to pour two flutes handing one to his lady. "Now I don't usually drink champagne because I mostly can't stand the taste of the stuff, but with the theme of the night, beer just didn't seem right, and I intend to do everything right by you Lorelai, I love you."

"Luke, I don't know what to say, this is amazing. You didn't have to do this." Lorelai said.

"Well you were feeling so down this week, I thought I'd cheer you up." Luke said.

Lorelai just smiled and took a sip of her drink. She looked over at Luke and couldn't explain the amount of love she had for that man, it actually scared her a little.

They had a lovely 3 course meal with Luke sneaking in as much healthy stuff he could get away with, but still keeping it tasty. For dessert he made chocolate covered strawberries along lemon meringue pie. Lorelai was slightly surprised that everything Luke had made was not on the diner menu, but should be and that they were secret recipes that his mother had taught him as a boy and he confessed every time he made them he hoped his mother would be proud. Lorelai, enjoyed seeing this softer intimate side of Luke and she was beginning to feel like her normal self again.

Luke had clear away all the dishes and the now empty bottle of champagne. The fire place was still thriving and the blanket were actually really cosy, so cosy Lorelai had persuaded him to cuddle up with her. He rested his head on the cushions while she rested her head on him, lazily drawing her finger on his shirt around his waist, not aware how aroused he was getting from such a simple action.

"Luke…" She said breaking the silence.

"Yeah?" He said looking up.

"I…love you… more than you know…" She smiled. It was the first time she had said that to him without feeling like alarm bells were about to go off, or triggered from an argument, she had thought about saying it before she actually said it, which in her mind let her knew she meant it.

Luke smiled back. "I love you too… and I want to share something with you." He said confidently. He leaned in and gave her a kiss. He then grabbed his wallet from the couch and took out a piece of paper.

"What's that?" She asked.

"Do you remember the first time you came into the diner?" He asked. "It was our first time meeting and you came rushing in determined to get coffee because Weston's was closed and you were annoying the hell out of me."

Lorelai grinned. "Well that is just one of my many talents!" She joked.

"Eventually you asked me when my birthday was over and over again which wore me down and I gave in and told you. You then cut out a horoscope from a newspaper and wrote down that I would meet an annoying woman that day and that you would leave if I gave you coffee." He said.

Lorelai grinned again, giggling actually. "But I didn't leave…" _thank god I didn't…_

"You told me to hold on to that horoscope and to put it in my wallet and that one day it would bring me luck." He said _… and it has, every day since then, it brought me Lorelai._

Lorelai was stunned, her heart was full and warm, she looked down at the piece of paper. "I can't believe you kept this…" She said in a whisper.

"I just want you to know I'm in, I'm all in." He said.

Lorelai smiled. "I'm all in too." She said quietly. The pair looked into each other's eyes not breaking apart until both were closed as they shared an almost never-ending fervent kiss, deepening further with one another's tongues, desperate to be as close as possible. Lorelai somehow ended up lying on top of Luke, lifting herself lightly tugging his shirt upwards, indicating she wanted it off. Luke took off the shirt exposing his chiselled torso, then helped Lorelai do the same.

Both now shirtless, they could sense where this was going and both wholeheartedly desired for it to happen, but Luke was apprehensive about pushing Lorelai too soon, especially in her current state.

"Lorelai… maybe we –"he started.

"Sshhh Luke, don't finish that sentence… I want this, I want you…" she said with all conviction.

"I… I don't want to hurt you." He replied worriedly.

"Aw babe, you won't, I know you'd never hurt me." she said but Luke didn't say anything, he was having a debate in his mind but Lorelai's hands made her way down his chest leading to the hem of his pants and she leaned down whispering in his ear…

"Make love to me Luke"

That was all it took and Luke's internal debate was lost.

They spent the time exploring each part of each other's bodies, showing each other physically and emotionally how much they loved appreciated and desired each other, it was like nothing else either had ever experienced, every touch sparked something in them, every kiss was like a drug and they were in pure ecstasy.

It was like two bodies had become one, this was it, they had found their soulmate.

* * *

 **Soooo fluffy... REVIEW pretty please, its keeps me going...**


	14. Chapter 14

**Previously…**

" **Make love to me Luke"**

 **That was all it took and Luke's internal debate was lost.**

 **They spent the time exploring each part of each other bodies, showing each other physically, emotional how much they loved appreciated and desired each other, it was like nothing else either had ever experienced, every touch sparked something in them, every kiss was like a drug and they were in pure ecstasy.**

 **It was like two bodies had become one, this was it, they had found their soulmate.**

* * *

Rory came home earlier the next morning due to Lane having to go to church. Entering the living room she found her mom and Luke cuddled together, tangled amongst the cosy blankets, having fallen asleep. She smiled at how cute they looked. Luckily for them they had re-clothed before completely submitting to the void of sleep, Rory had been through enough and seeing her mom and basically the closest thing to a proper father, naked, would be just too traumatizing for the teenager. She retired to her room for a little more sleep seeing as Mrs Kim was raised by a Korean drill sergeant and ran her household like one, Rory had endured her Sunday morning special wakeup call… it wasn't pretty.

When she woke up again not that much later, she checked and saw the two love birds where she had left them and decided to attempt to do something nice for them, she made coffee and prepared some food before returning to her room to catch up on homework, her last set of finals were in the next two weeks.

Later on in the morning, Lorelai woke up first and found herself still on the floor next to Luke who, surprisingly, was still asleep. She smiled remembering what an amazing evening she had had yesterday. After round one, they had continued showing each other the love they had felt, in so many ways possible. When it came too much for Lorelai they had just laid there enveloped in each other's arms and just talked about everything and anything, their childhoods, their parents, their previous relationships, their possible futures, they just talked and talked until the early hours of the morning, so of course they were going to wake up late.

She looked around and saw a tray placed by the fire place with food and some coffee on it. She frowned and was confused, _did Luke already wake up then go back to sleep?_ But Luke was out cold so it couldn't have been him. She pushed herself up into a sitting position and saw a note next to the coffee, so she picked it up and read it.

 _Morning Sleepyheads!_

 _Hope you had a nice date. Thought you deserved a lie in so I made you some breakfast! Hope it tastes ok! I tried my best to remember how Luke did it from when he taught me. Enjoy!_

 _Rory x_

 _P.S Yes I have pictures of you two right now._

Lorelai smiled at her daughters note, she has to see those pictures. She gently shook Luke. "Hey…" She smiled at him, stroking his face with her hand.

"Hi… did you sleep ok?" He smiled back.

"I slept wonderful, who knew a man's pectoral muscles make the perfect pillow, How about you?"

"Yeah good too, you wore me out last night."

" _ **I**_ wore you out? Which one of us has to go to physical therapy every other day? Besides I guess I was making up for lost time." She said with a bit of a cheek and placed another romantic kiss on his lips. "So, guess what?"

"What?"

"Rory made us breakfast." She grinned indicating to the tray.

"What?" Luke said surprised sitting up himself.

"The note says you've been teaching her, it looks great!" She smiled.

They tucked into their food and it was very tasty.

"Luuuuke…." Lorelai said when she finished.

"What do you want?" Luke said raising his eyebrow knowing her well.

"Well I was thinking you should go to the diner today. You haven't been for ages." She said.

Luke shook his head. "I'm not leaving you."

"That leads on to my next suggestion. How about I come with you?" She grinned.

Luke sighed. "Lorelai…"

"Please Luke! I hate being stuck inside all day with nothing to do and I know it can't be fun for you. I'll bring my chair and I will just sit in the corner being as good as gold." She begged.

Luke sighed letting his body language do the talking.

"Please Luke. I really think it will do me good. Plus I haven't spoken to anyone in days. My people need me!" She said dramatically.

"You're never as good as gold." Luke said hiding a smirk.

Lorelai beamed and hugged him. "Thanks!" She exclaimed, knowing that was a yes.

He began to clear away the tray when Lorelai grabbed his wrist.

"Hey, I loved waking up next to you this morning by the way." she said sincerely.

"Me too" said Luke giving a smile.

* * *

That lunchtime, Lorelai ventured out into the town, it wasn't the first time since the accident in her wheelchair but it was the first time entering the diner. They got to the diner but somehow forgot about the small steps at the entrance. But no matter Luke simply lifted Lorelai out of the chair and helped her hobble in with the cast, rather than carrying her, he convinced her to call it today's therapy training and he positioned her at the corner table by the window before bringing the chair in and tucking out of harm's way. Miss Patty and Babette were sat at a table and Kirk was at the counter.

"Are you sure you'll be OK here?" Luke fussed.

"Yes, I'll be fine, I am a big girl. Now go work mister! And get me some pancakes!" Lorelai grinned.

"Really? You can eat more after that big breakfast Rory made us?" Luke said.

"You're really asking me that question? seriously?" She joked.

"Sorry. My mistake." He said sarcastically and went to the kitchen.

Miss Patty and Babette didn't hesitate in coming over to sit with her.

"Oh Lorelai, sugah, it's so good to see you back in here, it's been far too long, you bring some of that pizzazz you got fishtailin' on yah hiney when you come in here." said Babette. She always had a weird but loving way of saying things.

"Oh? Well it's good to be back." Lorelai smiled back not going to question what exactly Babette meant. "Oh I meant to say thanks to you and Morey. Luke told me you were the first…um…on the scene…" She said quietly. "He said Morey was brilliant and you came with me in the ambulance so he could go with Rory."

"Oh it was nothing sugah. We just wanted to do anything to help, and seeing Morey in action like that really got me tingling in my honey pot, if you don't mind me sayin'!" She said but almost immediately snapping back to Lorelai with a bluer expression "But It was awful seeing you like that." Babette said sadly remembering back to seeing her on the road, not moving and surrounded by blood.

"Yes well you're alright now, aren't you? And you're going to be OK?" Miss Patty smiled trying to lighten the mood.

With a deep breath she uttered "Yeah, it's been a long recovery but I should be back to normal soon, I think I might even be ditching the wheels soon so that's good."

Lorelai smiled calming her friend's worries. _The truth was she didn't know what to expect, she had done some research when Rory was out of the house, people with head traumas have some kind of aftermath to deal with like PTSD or memory problems, so far Lorelai had showed none of those but still, it played on her mind._

Luke then came over with a small cup of coffee and a stack of pancakes.

"Where's my normal mug? I've missed ol' Regis" Lorelai pouted. She named it Regis after Regis Philbin but the cup was more like Regis fill-it-up!

"Hidden. You only get this small one until you're completely better." Luke said.

"But…." She protested.

"No buts! Just be glad I'm giving you any at all!" He said and walked back to the counter.

Lorelai grinned and watched him walk away which didn't go unnoticed by Babette and Miss Patty.

"So everything's going well between you two?" Babette asked.

Lorelai smiled remembering the last night. "Yeah Luke's been great."

"So you two are definitely together?" asked Miss Patty.

"Seems that way" replied with a smirk, _oh yeah definitely after last night_.

"Aw we're so happy for you two… But hey, when did it become, you know, official, as a couple?" Babette said.

"Nuh-uh I am not helping you with the 'secret Luke and Lorelai' pool the town has got going on."

"Aww rats!" exclaimed Babette.

Soon the two of them left and after answering some questions from Kirk, Lorelai spotted Taylor come in and grinned.

"Hi Taylor!" She said her eyes twinkling.

"Lorelai! It's so good to see you out and about." He said.

"You know I would be 'out and about' but you don't have any accessible access to your market for wheelchair users, nor to any other town facilities." She said trying to keep her face serious.

"Lorelai…" Luke warned. "Stop it!" He said knowing what she was doing.

"What? There should be an accessible ramp or something at least! How do you expect people like me who has to use this chair to enter the store?" She said innocently.

"Well um…" Taylor stuttered.

"You really should get it sorted, Taylor, I mean since you are town selectman and everything."

"Yes well I'll get on it." He said making a hasty exit.

Luke looked at Lorelai who was grinning. "Happy now?"

"Yes, and you should be thanking me, I just got rid of Taylor for you. Actually, you know, coming to think about it, the diner doesn't have a ramp either? If I wasn't with you, I wouldn't be able to get in and then how would I survive? Good thing my boyfriend is one those 'big-strong-gruff-he-man' types to carry me in." She grinned.

Luke just shook his head. "Impossible." He muttered disappearing into the kitchen.

Lorelai grinned. She was having fun tormenting people.

Just then Rory came in after having enough of study for the time being. "Mom!" She smiled going to sit at her table.

"Hey sweets!" She smiled at her daughter. "How was studying?"

"Yeah good thanks! I think I am definitely ready for the first few finals."

"That's good hon, I'm proud of you, oh and thanks for breakfast by the way! It was delicious!"

"Oh good! I was worried" Rory grinned.

Luke then appeared. "Great, Rory! Get her out of here!" He said.

Rory smirked. "What have you done now?" She joked.

"Nothing! Just sat here, looking gorgeous and minding my own business!" Lorelai pouted.

"You've been deliberately winding up my customers and driving me mad!" Luke said.

"Sounds about right!" Rory laughed.

"Hey you're not meant to agree with him! What ever happen to solidarity sister?" Lorelai exclaimed.

"You know we're just joking. Luke secretly loves you annoying him anyway!" She smirked. "Anyway I know what will cheer you up! How about we race across the square? I bet you a box of mallomars that I win!"

"You're on!" Lorelai grinned.

Rory helped her out of the diner and back into her chair and Luke just watched in bemusement as they both raced across the square. He couldn't help but smile when he saw Lorelai win and celebrate by trying to run Rory over. He was just glad Lorelai was her happy self again.

* * *

Over the next few weeks, Lorelai really progressed with her physical therapy and was given the all clear to not use the wheelchair anymore. She was cut out of her over-the-knee plaster cast and placed in a long leg air cast, or what she like to call the 'moon-boot' it was removable so she could at least take proper showers and not have to worry about insane itches anymore, still had to use her crutches and take it easy but it was a big step and Lorelai was ecstatic. She returned back to the inn to Michel's reluctance, only working half days unless certain duties only she could perform were needed but even then she was made to sit, taking the weight off her leg.

This also coincided with Rory finishing her first year at Chilton, finishing every one of her finals, now she just had to wait for the results but she felt confident, so the three agreed to go out for a meal to celebrate. However one red head with the scent of Chanel No.5 put a detonator on their plans.

Only a day after getting the all clear for no chair Lorelai had arrived home around lunchtime, the time she was now forced to leave work as per Luke, Sookie and even Michel's instructions. She went to check the answering machine only to hear her mother's plummy voice.

' _ **Lorelai, it's your mother, I've heard word that you are now of your wheelchair, which means you are well enough to return to Friday night dinners, so dinner is at 7 we will see you then.**_ _'_ **End of messages.**

Lorelai groaned at this, of course there had to be a downside from being free of her medical captives, but she did have a contract and her parents had been good about the ones she's missed since she was fighting for her life basically. _How did she find out? Like it just happened yesterday and Rory didn't call and I certainly didn't. But who am I kidding, it's Emily Gilmore she's the big brother of Hartford, she sees all and hears all – she's always watching, especially anything concerning me, her disappointing inadequate daughter._

* * *

So before they could celebrate the milestones each Gilmore had achieved, Lorelai and Rory had to endure Friday night dinner first. That is how Lorelai and Rory found themselves standing outside the Gilmore Mansion the following Friday.

Emily opened the door. "Lorelai! Rory! Come in!" She said.

"No maid?" Lorelai said.

"I was near the door so I answered it." She said.

"Or she was watching out for us." Lorelai said quietly to Rory so that only she could hear.

Rory smirked and then hugged her grandma. "Hi Grandma!"

They went through to the living room where they greeted Richard as well and they all sat down with drinks.

"I have to say it is very good to see you looking so much better." Richard smiled at his daughter.

"Thanks dad. I do feel better." Lorelai smiled.

"So where's Luke tonight?" Emily asked.

"Oh, he's at the diner, why's that?"

"It seems he is constantly around you these days, just surprised to not see him here, that's all." She replied in a slight snide tone.

Lorelai ignored her mother's tones trying to keep upbeat "Oh I didn't realize he was invited, but anyway he's barely been to work since I've come back from the hospital so he wanted to check up on things and give his staff a break as a thank you."

Richard and Emily exchanged a glance but didn't say anything.

"Oh Grandpa, didn't you say you found that book that we were talking about?" Rory asked, trying to break the silence.

"Oh yes I did! I can show you it now if you want." Richard smiled.

"Sure!" Rory said getting up to follow him to his study.

Emily was watching her daughter. "So you're out of your wheelchair, that's good news."

"Yeah it's so great, and I am out of plaster too" she said indicating to the moon boot "so I can actually shower like a normal person too"

"That's wonderful" Emily exclaimed

"Yeah and I don't need as much help getting around also, which on my part is great because now we can start getting back to our normal routines again, oh and thanks for the bed but I think I don't need it anymore so if you could deal with its departure, that would be great, I am so looking forward to sleeping in my own bed again."

"Of course dear, I'll make arrangements tomorrow and it should be gone."

Lorelai smiled, she was actually having a nice conversation with her mother for once. "Thanks mom."

"I'm glad you're feeling better." They were both silent for a moment when Emily spoke up again.

"So, as I said earlier, Luke seems to be around a lot for you." She said.

"Yeah he's been great." Lorelai replied, knowing she was going somewhere with this.

"And he's been staying at your house?"

"On the sofa, yes."

Emily gave an exasperated sigh "Lorelai, am I going to have to ask a hundred questions before you admit that you're in a relationship with this man?"

Lorelai sighed. She knew it would come out anyway. "Fine, Luke and I are dating yes. But we had only decided to date right before the accident. Literally that afternoon actually." She said.

"I see." Was all Emily said, pleased that she had gotten her answer but not sure what else to think about the situation. _I KNEW IT! But what could be thinking dating that man._ Though she didn't intend to, Emily's mind had gone on autopilot with her reaction to Luke, in that moment she had forgotten about everything she had recently learnt or witnessed about Luke and gone into high society snob mode.

Rory then came back in. "Mom, Grandpa wanted to show you something in his study." She said. "Do you want some help?"

"No it's OK. I'll manage." She smiled taking the crutches, glad to not have to further the conversation with her mom.

She got to her dad's study and walked in – well hobbled in. "Hi dad, Rory said you wanted to show me something?"

"Yes. Well no, but come sit down Lorelai." He said.

Lorelai sat down confused. "I feel like I'm 16 again." She joked.

"I'm just going to get down to it. Luke has been there a lot for you and Rory the last couple of months. He's now staying with you. Is there something going on between the two of you?" He said.

"Wow are you and mom in cahoots or something? Was this planned?" Lorelai joked.

"I don't know what you mean. I just want to know about your relationship with Luke."

"OK, yes, Luke and I are dating." Lorelai admitted, it was easier saying it to her father than her mother, that's for sure.

"Good, I am glad"

"Wait what? You are!?" Lorelai was caught off guard by her dad's statement.

"Lorelai I've seen how he has handled these difficult times, I can see his love for you and for Rory, he has gone above and beyond what any friend should do so I had to question whether you are more than friends, and now I have my answer, I can get to the reason why I called you in here."

"Which is…" Lorelai prompted.

"I had a private detective look over his records." Richard admitted.

Lorelai was stunned and also annoyed. "What? Dad, why would you do that?"

"I know you have every right to be upset but hear me out. I did this out of concern. This man is staying in your house, where you, my only daughter and my only granddaughter live, eat and sleep, and immediately declared to be the one taking care of Rory while you were in the hospital. He is very close to the both you, yet your mother and I know almost nothing about him, we were concerned, and as your father I had the right to know what sort of man he is." He said calmly.

"No dad, you didn't. You could have trusted our judgement! Luke would never hurt Rory or me." Lorelai said annoyed.

"Lorelai, I didn't do this to upset or annoy you. I just needed to know, please, think of it as my way of gaining a sense of ease. I approve of Luke just by seeing him interact with you and Rory and how we acts around your mother and I but I just wanted to make sure." He said.

Lorelai calmed down a little, she did understand her father's worries, after all Luke is a middle aged man, to outsiders it may look bad, that's if they knew Luke wasn't Rory's father. Her curiosity did however get to her, "Well did you find anything?" She asked sarcastically.

"Not really. He's built a pretty good business and works extremely hard and also owns the building as well as another residential property in the town that gains income through rent and has saved on costs living above the diner so his finances are surprisingly good. He has a clean record, and will go beyond the call of duty, which says here he has done for his sister many times, but I knew that with how he has been with you, though I do feel for the boy, losing his parents young couldn't have been easy, but I can see he is well put together."

"You know what, dad. You could have found that out by just simply asking Luke. He would have happily told you all that information himself. He doesn't have anything to hide."

"Yes, I am sorry, but if you two would like to talk about this at a later time you are more than welcome to."

"Yeah I think I we might take you up on that offer. Now can we go eat?" She said, remaining calm.

"Certainly." He said getting up. "Oh Lorelai" he said uneasily.

"Yeah dad?"

"I hope you're not angry with me, I was just trying to do what's best."

"No dad I am not angry… I just wish you had more faith in me and my judgments."

"I'll try do better" He said sincerely "Now let me escort you to the dining room."

* * *

The dinner went without any more upsets and Lorelai and Rory went back to the Crap Shack. She had told Rory about what her dad had told her during the drive back, which of course Rory being peace keeper understood the Gilmore's reasoning.

"Luke?" Lorelai called, arriving in the foyer.

"In here!" He called from the living room.

They went in and Lorelai smiled at him and gave him a kiss.

"How was the first dinner back?" he asked.

"It was fine, but you won't believe what my dad did!" She said.

"What?" Luke asked.

Rory went to her room, giving them some space.

Lorelai sat down on the sofa with him. She sighed. "He hired a private detective to find out everything about you. Your finances, your records, family history… I'm so sorry. I couldn't believe it myself when he told me."

Luke was surprised. He always thought he had gotten on OK with Richard.

"He said he had to do it because you were staying with Rory, and it was his way of putting his mind at ease, but I told him he should have just trusted our judgement." She said.

Luke sighed. "I guess I sort of understand…" He said.

"Really?"

"Well yeah. Rory is very important to him and so are you. If I was him and had that kind of access I would have probably done the same too, I guess it was his way of protecting you." He said.

Lorelai just smiled at him. "And that is why I love you." She said and kissed him.

* * *

Two weeks after the interrogation dinner, summer officially began and the girls were exempted from Friday night dinners as Emily and Richard were doing their annual vacation at Martha's vineyard, at some point the girls and Luke were to join them but in the mean time they were just enjoying having their Friday nights to themselves. They all headed to Sniffy's for a celebratory meal to celebrate Rory finishing her exams and surviving round one of Chilton. That night they were introduced to Maisy and Buddy by Luke. The girls were surprised seeing these lovely people and interacting with Luke like they had known him his entire life, which of course they did since they were Luke's godparents and therefore the closest thing of 'meet-the-parents' Lorelai would come to.

They had a lovely meal, though it was nothing they had actually ordered. Lorelai tried her best to have a good time even though she hadn't been feeling well all week, but since she had an iron stomach she ploughed on through ignoring her nausea. She enjoyed seeing Rory teasing Luke, and Rory loved seeing Lorelai and Luke bantering in a more couple-like way rather than how they acted in the diner.

After dessert, Luke brought out a long velvet box from his pocket.

"Rory, I got you something to say congratulations about finishing your exams, and not quitting even though you went through a lot with Paris tormenting you, and Pre-Relationship Tristan and how well you dealt with the accident and stuff." He said awkwardly. "It's nothing big but you deserve it, I'm proud of you kid."

This whole speech cause Lorelai to tear up, she could not get over the relationship her boyfriend had with her daughter, none of her past relationships had ever been like this.

Rory opened it and was touched. She took out this lovely looking necklace, it was a gold heart shaped locket with a feminine floral design on the front, hanging on a simple gold chain. "Luke, this is beautiful…."

"It was my mother's, she got it in the 40's. I thought it would look nice on you." He said nonchalantly.

"Luke, you didn't have to give me anything… but I can't accept this, it's… it's… it's too special." She said.

"No no you deserve it, It's no big deal. My mother would have wanted you to have it anyway. Oh and you can put pictures in the middle if you want" He said.

She got out of her seat and gave him an awkward hug. "I love it. Thanks Luke! I'll take good care of it, can you put it on me?" She smiled and turned around holding her hair of the way letting Luke hook it on her neck. It really did suit her.

Lorelai managed to keep the tears at bay and smiled too then gave him a kiss. When she thought she couldn't love this man any more she was proven wrong, she knew she had picked the right guy, and that scary overwhelming feeling was getting easier and easier each day. "It is a big deal. Thank you." She whispered into his ear.

They headed home, everyone just really content with how their lives were going, especially after what they endured over 3 months ago. Rory headed to bed while Luke went upstairs to run Lorelai a bubble bath. Lorelai however hobbled into the kitchen with her crutches, she was still peckish even though she had just enjoyed a huge dinner. She looked around to see if she could see anything she could snack on. Her eyes fell on the fruit bowl that Luke had bought since staying there. She spotted something that look too delicious to ignore and before she knew what she was doing, she picked up a juicy red apple and took a big bite out of it...

* * *

 **...Lorelai's favorite food is apple's right?**

 **ehehehe, Review please, my pretties :)**


	15. Chapter 15

_**Ergh Sorry for the wait, its been a busy exhausting time lately... and lack of reviews from last chapter had me sad sooo yeah... anyway, enjoy chapter 15**_

* * *

 **Previously…**

 **They headed home, everyone just really content with how their lives were going, especially after what they endured over 3 months ago. Rory headed to bed while Luke went upstairs to run Lorelai a bubble bath. Lorelai however hobbled into the kitchen with her crutches, she was still peckish even though she had just enjoyed a huge dinner. She looked around to see if she could see anything she could snack on. Her eyes fell on the fruit bowl that Luke had bought since staying there. She spotted something that look too delicious to ignore and before she knew what she was doing, she picked up a juicy red apple and took a big bite out of it.**

* * *

After another couple of weeks, Lorelai was sitting in her orthopedic surgeon's office with Luke waiting to be given the all clear to remove the moon boot and also not need to use her crutches anymore. She was very happy with her progress and it meant she could finally go back to normal. After what felt like hours of waiting, which it nearly was, her doctor finally walked into the room, placing her latest x-ray on the light board and gave it one last look to reassure himself in his decision and checking over the screws placed along Lorelai's tibia to see how they were. Then he turned towards the pair.

"So, Lorelai, everything is looking good, Are you ready to have your leg back?" He smiled at her.

"God yes! Just take this thing off! Then beat it with Mary-Kate and Ashley over there" Lorelai grinned. The reference caused the doctor to give a puzzled face which of course Luke picked up on.

"She means the crutches" he assisted.

"Oh right, Now, you will still need to take it easy on your leg, so no going straight into marathons or jumping jacks anytime soon." The doctor said.

Luke struggled to stifle a snort that actually came out louder than he expected. Lorelai gave him a pointed look. "Excuse me you think that is funny?" she too was laughing on the inside but she couldn't have Luke getting away with laughing at her.

"No no not funny, not funny at all… just that the only time I've seen you run or doing anything remotely close to jumping jacks would be for coffee or the last Danish on Danish day, or something crazy only you and Rory understand."

"OK point taken, see doctor, nothing to worry about."

"Good, but if anything does happen, any severe pain or numbing tingles, give me or your outpatient doctor a call, in case something more serious is wrong like clotting, soft tissue damage we may have missed, or a screw has come loose sort of thing."

"Oh I know there is some screws already loose when it comes to Lorelai." Luke said with cheek

"Hey, I resent that."

"So you should" he countered back.

The doctor couldn't help smile at their banter. Lorelai was given a somewhat stylish cane in case she was having a bad day with tiredness and pain or as she put it; felt like working on her Charlie Chaplin impersonation. They then finished up the appointment, thanked the doctor and headed home.

* * *

Luke drove her home from the hospital. She went into the house. "Oh daughter of mine!" She called.

"Hey!" Rory smiled coming out of her room.

"I'm a new woman!" Lorelai grinned.

"I can see that!" Rory laughed. "So how does it feel?"

"It feels so good! With the amount of titanium in there I could be mistaken for the 6 million dollar woman, and now I can finally go and annoy Michel and gossip with Sookie with full time hours again!" She exclaimed excitedly.

"The doctor still said you needed to take it easy." Luke said.

"Yeah yeah I know. I will. I'm just happy to be able to go places myself now without being pushed around or leaning on something, minus the cane which I doubt I would be using." She smiled and gave him a kiss.

"OK well I am going to go study in my room before this gets R-Rated, but I am glad the old mom is back" Said Rory giving her mom a hug.

Lorelai smiled as her daughter walked away, she sat down on the couch and let out a breath of air.

"You OK?" Luke asked with concern.

"Yeah I am just not feeling good, the smell of that doctors room started getting to me."

"Yeah they will do that to ya', I am just gonna get something that might settle your stomach" he said turning to the kitchen, but before he got far Lorelai reached out for his hand and held him back. "I don't know what I would have done the past couple of months without you. You've been amazing." She said.

Luke turned a pale shade of red. "I didn't do that much…" He said humbly.

"Are you kidding me? You up-turned your whole life and looked after Rory and then you literally became my live in carer! You've been amazing and I love you for it." She smiled.

Luke gave her a smile. "I love you too. So…I guess this means you don't need me to stay here anymore…." Luke said hesitantly.

"Um…well let's see, I still have a leg full of metal and a cane for emergencies plus that whole head trauma thing might keep things interesting… so actually I do, face it I am a danger to myself and to Rory and I will need a big strong man to protect us" She reasoned, the truth is she didn't want him to go, not yet anyway, maybe never.

"Well for the sake of Rory's safety, I guess I will be staying here for a bit longer I guess …" He said.

"Of course you only do it for Rory's sake…" she jokingly sounded offended.

"Well not just for Rory… Your bed is so much comfier than mine." He said with a grin that earned him a playful slap on his shoulder.

* * *

The next afternoon, Luke was about to head off to the diner to catch up on work. He walked into the living to find Rory and Lorelai on the sofa watching TV, both of them weren't feeling well, Lorelai had emptied her breakfast into the toilet a few hours ago and Rory was having aunt flow problems.

"OK I am off to the diner and will be back after closing." He announced.

"But I thought you were only working till 7 then having dinner with us." Said Rory with a pout.

"Ergh don't mention food…" Lorelai groaned.

"I know but Larry asked if he could have the night off and since he and Caesar have been covering for me for months I owe it to him so I said yes. We will hang out another night."

"OK I suppose you may go." Said Rory.

"Wait who is Larry?" asked Lorelai.

"One of my workers, you know him... you see him almost everyday." he said but both of the girls still looked puzzled, "uh tall, glasses, quiet, little bit old" he was still getting nothing but confused faces "…The Asian guy" he finally said which the girls then registered who he was talking about.

"Oh I didn't know his name was Larry" replied Rory.

"Yeah I just always called him Asian Caesar" Retorted Lorelai. Luke looked appalled at this and Lorelai quickly added "Not to his face, I am not that rude Luke."

"Uh OK well now you know his name, use it. I've got to go, call me if you need me to come home and I'll close early, other than that is there anything you two need?" he asked.

"Apple Juice, Ginger Ale, Tylenol and Julie Andrews' original singing voice back."

"Hey now I am not a miracle worker, anything for you Rory?"

"Chocolate and I'll steal some of moms Tylenol" she groaned.

"OK will do, I'll bring over burgers during a lull, bye girls feel better" He said placing a kiss on Rory's head and one on Lorelai's lips.

"Ergh don't mention food…" Lorelai grumbled.

"Bye Luke." Said Rory and with that Luke exited the building.

"So what's going to happen with Luke now that you have the all clear? Is he going to go back to staying in his apartment?"

"Well I've convinced him into staying a little longer so we will see. But he might go to the apartment when he has early deliveries just to keep things easier."

"How did you manage to do that?"

"I told him that I was a danger to both you and myself."

"That will do it… Man It'll be weird not having Luke here…" Rory said.

Lorelai looked at her daughter. Over the last couple of months, she had noticed how closer Luke and Rory had become and it was nice to see, even just now with Luke's small gesture of placing a kiss on the top of Rory's head like any dad would and had been doing it for years even though it's only been months. "Yeah it will be…" Lorelai agreed.

Rory nodded and turned her attention to the TV.

Lorelai watched her. "Did you like having him around then?"

"Yeah… I'd sort of gotten used to it." Rory said. "I mean, he practically lived here when you were in hospital and if he wasn't here I was staying with him. It was just nice having him around all the time and hanging out with him instead of only seeing him behind the counter at the diner, I guess." She admitted.

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah… it was nice." She said thoughtfully.

The doorbell suddenly rang so Rory went to answer it. "Oh hi Rachel! I didn't know you were back" She smiled inviting her in.

"Hey Rory. Yeah I just got back this morning and I just bumped into Luke. She said your mom is back to normal with finally getting her cast off and doesn't need to use crutches anymore. She must be relieved!" Rachel smiled.

"Yeah she's ecstatic!" Rory grinned leading her into the living room and then going to her room to give them some space.

"Oh hi Rachel!" Lorelai smiled at her.

"Hey! I'm sorry I haven't been around to see you. I mean I saw you in the hospital but you were... you know, and then I was sent off for an assignment and just got back this morning. " Rachel said.

"It's fine! It's good to see you. How are you doing?" She asked.

"Yeah I'm good thanks. Glad to be back for a bit. Oh I'm still staying at the inn, I hope that's OK?" She said.

"Yeah, of course, you're welcome there as long as you need." Lorelai smiled.

"Thanks." Rachel said and sat down. "I will find a place soon. It's times like these when I wish I had a partner! Someone to help make decisions and then blame them if you don't like the outcome" She joked.

Lorelai laughed. "Yeah it is kind of nice." She admitted.

Rachel smiled. "So it seems to be going so well between you and Luke, I swear I saw a little hop in his step. I'm glad."

"Yeah he's been truly amazing, especially to Rory." Lorelai admitted.

They carried on talking, catching up over the past few months and both Lorelai's relished in the details of Rachel's trip, especially 'future foreign correspondent' Rory.

* * *

As the afternoon turned into even the doorbell rang again and Rory went to answer it. "Dad?" She said surprised. She hadn't seen him since the hospital when he went to visit mom and then disappeared again with maybe one or two calls here and there.

"Hey kiddo." He said.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, it came out more bitter than even she expected.

"Nice to see you too, can I come in?"

"Uh sure…" Rory said awkwardly. They went into the living room. "Mom, its dad…" She said.

Lorelai turned round. "Chris. Hi. Let me guess you were just in the neighborhood?" She said startled.

"Hey Lor. I was in Hartford visiting the folks, and Emily told me you'd gotten the all clear today so I thought I'd come by to see how you were." He said.

"Oh well I'm good…Except how did you talk to Emily? She's at the vineyard for the summer" Lorelai questioned.

"She called…" Chris admitted.

"Oh, of course she did." Lorelai said, annoyed at her mom's interference, knowing exactly what she was trying to do. She noticed Chris was staring at something or in this case someone behind her … she then got an idea to stay one step ahead of her mother. "Sorry, I'm being rude, Chris, have you met Rachel?" She smiled. "Rachel, this is Christopher Hayden, Rory's dad."

"Hi! Nice to meet you!" Rachel smiled.

From the first look at her, Chris felt something but didn't know what or why. "Hi." He smiled. "N...Nice t…to meet you too." He stuttered.

Lorelai grinned and winked at Rory, who grinned back knowing what her mom was trying to do.

Just then Luke arrived back from the diner with some food which he had promised the girls but stopped when he got into the living room. His eyes narrowed seeing Chris. "Oh hi." He said.

"Hi." Chris said awkwardly.

"I was just dropping these off." He said gesturing to the bags.

"Ooooh yay burgers! I am starving" Rory beamed.

"Yeah and I stopped by Doose's for that other stuff you guys asked for."

"Thanks Luke!" She grinned and took the bags into the kitchen to sort through them, leaving an awkward 4-way staring contest.

"So how's things Chris?" asked Luke, trying to diffuse the tension.

"Things are fine Luke." He replied sullenly

"Hey, how about we all go out for a meal or something?" Lorelai suggested suddenly before the men drew their swords for a duel.

Luke frowned. An evening with Christopher wasn't exactly his ideal evening.

Lorelai noticed his frown. "Luke, can I have a word?" She asked gesturing to the door.

He nodded and followed her. "What's going on?"

"My mom decided to let Chris know about me getting the all clear and sent him over… I guess she thought the head trauma would have changed my personality enough I'd let him whisk me away into the sunset." She explained.

Luke felt his jaw tighten.

"But don't worry babe I have an idea to stay one step ahead." She said.

"What's that? You and ideas don't have a great track record in my book." Luke asked skeptically.

"We try and set up Rachel and Chris. Rachel was just saying how lonely she felt and if we find Chris someone, he can't bother us anymore plus my mom will be annoyed which is always a bonus!" She grinned.

Luke sighed. "I don't know… I have the diner…" he said trying to get out of it, except he already had closed up, he was worried about his girls back home.

"You can close up early, give everyone a night off, Please Luke! I saw something between them. I know they've just met but I saw a spark and I think if we go out altogether they could get to know each other." She said.

Luke had to admit that it was a nice thought to get Chris out of the picture. He knew he would go after Lorelai otherwise. "OK but we can't push it. I want Rachel to be happy, she is still one of my oldest friends. I don't want her to be forced into anything and I certainly don't want that jerk-off to hurt her even if he is Rory's dad" He said.

"OK!" Lorelai smiled and gave him a kiss. "Thank you."

"But are you up for this, are you feeling better?" he asked with concern.

"Eh, I still feel a bit iffy but I can handle it." She said brushing off any concern for her well-being.

"Maybe you should see a doctor, you've been like this for a couple of weeks now."

"No, no more doctors, I have had enough of doctors for a lifetime, I just want to go out like a normal adult."

"OK OK, but if you aren't back to normal by this time tomorrow you are going to a doctor, OK?"

"Yes _dad!"_ she replied sarcastically and placed a quick peck on his lips emphasizing the 'mwah' sound.

They went back to the living room to find Rachel and Chris already engaged in a conversation about Rachel's latest assignment, involving chimpanzees and Borneo.

"So how would you guys like to go out for dinner?" Lorelai smiled.

They both nodded, happy to spend more time together. Lorelai shot Luke an I-told-you-so look to which he couldn't help but smirk. "Rory! We're going out for dinner!" She called.

Rory appeared from the kitchen. "But what about your burger?"

"Eat it yourself or Invite Lane round. I'm sure she'd appreciate it. And if you're a good girl i'll bring home some dessert."

"OK, see you later then! Have fun!" She called out and went into her room.

* * *

Lorelai quickly got changed and then the four of them left and went to a nice Italian restaurant in Hartford. They actually surprisingly ended up having a really good time. Christopher didn't even have time to be jealous of Lorelai and Luke's coziness as he was enjoying getting to know Rachel. The conversation felt comfortable as two pairs grew up knowing each other and could share embarrassing stories of the other without anyone feeling left out, it was equal footing.

Lorelai noticed how Chris was reacting to everything Rachel did or said and she couldn't blame him, she was bright, intelligent and fun to talk to. They had continued their chatting throughout the meal over pasta with rich infused classic Italian flavors, but somewhere between Mains and Dessert Lorelai had to quickly escape to the bathroom, as her recently consumed food decided to make a not so rich infused comeback. Luke was worried and wanted to follow but Rachel said she would go since she is a woman and it was the ladies room after all.

"Lorelai, you in here?" Rachel called out, and she got her answer with the sweet sounds of gagging and regurgitated food schlepping into the toilet bowl. She knocked on stall only to find it unlocked and entered with caution. Lorelai was down on her knees bent over the bowl as convulsions took over her body, Rachel being the friend she needed at the time held her hair and rubbed her back.

"Oh god, I didn't mean to ruin your evening." Lorelai grunted out, before another round of sickness took over.

"Hey you didn't, I just wish I knew what was wrong so I could help you or at least let Luke help you."

"Ergh, I don't know what is wrong." She said feeling OK to lean back against the stall wall "I have just felt nauseous for over two weeks now, and weird cramping and stuff, maybe it's my body trying to get back in rhythm after the coma, I dunno…"

"Huh maybe you're pregnant" Rachel Joked "I'm just going to get you a glass of water."

Except Lorelai didn't hear that last part because everything in her head came to a screeching halt and red sirens were playing over and over again and the word 'Pregnant'. She went over the signs; Nausea? – Check, Weird Cravings? AKA apples – Check, Weird Cramping? – Check, missing the monthly friend? – Check? She couldn't remember, her body was out of whack and she only realized now she hadn't taken her pill since before the accident so of course it would have worn off her system. _Shit oh SHIT! OH SHIT OH SHIT SHIT! SHIT SHIT SHIT!_

Rachel then came back in with a glass of water and Lorelai downed it pretending it was the vodka she needed. "Are you OK, you've gone paler than you were before?" Rachel asked.

"Uh yeah… you… you just made me realize… something. Um could you do me a favor?"

"Sure what is it?"

"You saw that 24-hour pharmacy across the street right, uh could you uh… could you get me something…"

"What is it?"

"…a test" she said quietly.

"Like one where one kind of result happens in 9 months kind of test?" Rachel asked and Lorelai could only nod her head.

"OK uh sure, I'll get it now, I'll just tell the guys I am getting you some Pepto-Bismol or something, you gonna be alright here?"

"Oh yeah, I can feel round 3 of me vs the toilet coming on."

And with that Rachel quickly snuck out of the restaurant and over to the pharmacy grabbing the first test she could find and a bottle of Pepto-Bismol to cover her tracks before quickly returning to the bathroom handing over the paper bag to Lorelai, who smuggled the items into her hand bag for later.

* * *

The women eventually exited the restroom and the four drove back to the Hollow. Luke and Lorelai said their goodbyes to Rachel and Chris, who had offered to take her back to the independence. Lorelai smiled and nudged Luke who saw Chris opening the car door for Rachel which made him smile. He had to admit it was an enjoyable evening.

Luke went upstairs to collect some of his stuff so he could go back to his apartment tonight for early deliveries in the morning.

"Did you have a nice time?" Rory asked from the sofa as they went in.

"Yeah and Chris and Rachel hit it off immediately! I am a genius, I should be the town Yenta." Lorelai grinned.

"What would Miss Patty have to say about that I wonder?" Replied Rory.

"I am sure we can share the limelight, maybe join business ventures."

Rory laughed. "Well as long as there is a plan, OK I am wiped, I'm going to head to bed. Night mom! See you tomorrow Luke!" she called upstairs at that last part.

"Night hon!" Lorelai smiled giving her a kiss.

"See ya Rory!" Luke called back.

Lorelai went upstairs and watched Luke collect his stuff. He smiled at her and gave her a kiss. "I'll see you tomorrow for breakfast then?" He asked.

"Try and stop me!" She grinned.

Luke chuckled and went to leave.

"Luke wait a minute!" She said and gestured for him to follow her outside. "I've been thinking…" She said.

"Well that's never a good thing!" He joked.

"Hey!" She exclaimed, playfully hitting him. "Anyway, I was thinking, Even though we discussed you staying here longer and I know you have early deliveries tomorrow so it would be more practical for you to stay at your apartment tonight…"

"But…"

"But, I've grown so used to having you around the house. It's been really nice to see you all the time." She said.

"Yeah it has." He agreed.

"Well I was wondering if, I mean this is if you wanted to of course, you wanted to still be around a lot…" She said.

"You mean like stay over some nights?" He asked.

"What about every night?" She asked quietly, not sure what his reaction would be.

Luke was surprised. "You mean like move in?" She nodded. "You want me to move in? Have you even talked to Rory about this?" He asked.

"Not specifically about you moving in but she was telling me when you were at the diner that it would be weird not having you around the house anymore. She loves having you here. You don't have to say yes straight away or do it straight away. It was just maybe something we could talk about…or you know, put a pin in it for a later time or something." She said.

Luke then gave her a smile. He kissed her. "Let's talk about it a bit more. I'm definitely not opposed to the idea." He smiled.

Lorelai smiled and gave him a more loving tender kiss, it was enough to change Luke's mind.

"Actually I think I might stay here tonight... with you not feeling well I wanna be here for you if you need anything."

"Aw babe you don't have to – " she said with a smirk knowing it wasn't wholly about her being sick.

"I want to" he said firmly. "Now are you feeling better or do you need me to go grab something to settle your stomach?"

"Oh I had Rachel get me some Pepto-Bismol whilst I was emptying dinner into the toilet, It's in my bag, can you hand it over?" she said gesturing to the dresser the bag was sitting on, she was preoccupied with the Luke 'moving-in-business' she forgot what else laid in her bag. Luke went over to grab it and dug through to find the pink bottle only he found a long box instead. He picked it up and read the first two words causing palpitations in his heart.

"Lorelai…" he said getting her attention, "What the hell is this?"

* * *

 **Dun Dun Dun! So y'all should know I Louise, like Lorelai, have this need for constant reassurance (not so much Eliza, that girl is confident go read her stuff) and the best way to do that I need reviews... sooooo pleeeeeease review.**


	16. Chapter 16

Thank You so much for all the Reviews, don't ever stop them!

* * *

 **Previously**

" **I want to" he said firmly. "Now are you feeling better or do you need me to go grab something to settle your stomach?"**

" **Oh I had Rachel get me some Pepto-Bismol whilst I was emptying dinner into the toilet, It's in my bag, can you hand it over?" she said gesturing to the dresser the bag was sitting on, she was preoccupied with the Luke moving in business she forgot what else laid in her bag. Luke went over to grab it and dug through to find the pink bottle only he found a long box instead. He picked it up and read the first two words causing palpitations in his heart.**

" **Lorelai…" he said getting her attention, "What the hell is this?"**

Luke holds the pregnancy test out in Lorelai's line of sight. She freezes. Deciding to play nonchalant about it she only replies "A pregnancy test" as if it is the most casual thing in the world.

"I know it's a pregnancy test!" He curtly replied.

"Well then why did you ask?"

"Let me rephrase my question, why is there a pregnancy test in your BAG!" he bellowed, he was getting annoyed with her unconcerned attitude towards this.

"Luke, please, just calm down, here come sit down on the bed and we can talk… calmly!" she said emphasizing the calmly part. Luke did all he could do to comply, he let out a frustrated breath and sat down next to Lorelai at the foot of the bed.

"Lorelai, please just tell me straight, Why do you have this?"

"Um..."

"Lorelai? Are you pregnant?"

"I haven't taken it...but maybe…"

"Maybe?" he repeated.

"Most likely" she said

"Most likely" he once again repeated.

"Can you stop being a parrot please" she demanded, now she was getting annoyed. "All the signs are there."

"So you think this is why you've been sick lately?"

"Yup." She said shortly, neither was looking at the other only staring straight ahead at nothing in general.

"Were you going to tell me?"

"Of course I was, I just got distracted…"

"Why didn't you tell me straight away? How long have you thought you were pregnant?"

"About an hour, give or take." She answered, and Luke turned to her with a puzzled face. "It only occurred to me at the restaurant, when I was puking my guts out and Rachel came in, she mentioned something and then everything just clicked and so I asked her to quickly sneak out to the pharmacy and pick up the test."

"Oh" was all he said, "So Rachel knows about this?"

"Yeah, but I don't think she will tell anyone if that's what you are worried about… What are you worried about exactly? Obviously you have concerns, and I know we haven't talked about kids especially now when we are just starting out in this relationship, and I don't know how you feel about this, but it wouldn't be so bad, would it?" She rambled, but he stayed silent.

Luke was always a slow processor with certain kinds of information and sometimes he was a silent processor, he needed to get his head around the hundreds of thoughts and concerns and feelings he was dealing with at the present moment, but he had to do it how he does things best, and that is alone.

"Luke, please say something, please don't be mad."

"I'm not mad, I just need time"

"OK, time is good, if that is what you need."

"It is… So are you going to take it then?"

"Actually I was going to wait till morning, because A. I am wiped from my steady relationship with emptying my guts into the toilet bowl and B. I read somewhere you get better results in the morning."

"Right, right…" he said standing up "I think that maybe I should go to my apartment tonight afterall…" he decided, he seriously needed to be alone, he needed to nurse this over a beer.

"No, Luke please! Don't go, we need to be in this together!"

"I'll see you tomorrow." He said

Luke's mind was already made up and he left, ignoring her begging. Lorelai collapsed onto the bed curling up and letting the tears fall. They could be due to the hormones changing in her body or the fact she knew this was the first time Luke would be spending the night away from her since she left the hospital, would he be coming back? She didn't know.

* * *

The next day Lorelai walked into the independence, tired and miserable. She had cried herself to sleep in a weird position leaving her body aching and sluggish the next morning. She slept through her alarm, waking up late courtesy of Rory, which caused her to rush to work, she didn't have time to take the test which she didn't want to do without Luke, and she didn't stop by the diner for breakfast either, nor did she exactly want to, obviously Luke had to process.

Lorelai walked into the inn's kitchen to try find some sustenance or at least convince Sookie to make her some. She headed to the second most loved coffee machine in her life, Luke's being the first, and poured a cup of her elixir. Looking over her shoulder at her best friend who was totally consumed in how many whisks she had done on her fluffy meringue Sookie hadn't noticed Lorelai's presence. She needed to talk to someone about last night and Sookie was the woman for the job but she knew how intense she was when she was counting and had to wait till she was done. Once Sookie put the bowl down Lorelai let her presence be known.

"Hey Sook..."

"Hey Sweetie! Sorry I didn't see you there"

"It's fine you were in the zone, could you do me a favor and make me some breakfast, I didn't have time this morning."

Sookie knew that whenever Lorelai requested breakfast something was up. She stopped what she was doing and put a straight face on looking at Lorelai. "OK what's wrong? What's happened?"

"Nothing…" Lorelai sheepishly replied.

"Lorelai you're my best friend and I know when you ask for my breakfast over Luke's something has happened." Sookie said pointing a different stirring spoon in Lorelai's face ready to work on another bowl of something yum.

"Luke and I had a fight last night...well not really a fight, it was a thing, but still a kind of big thing, I don't know how to explain"

"OK? Well what was this 'thing' about? Do you wanna talk about it?" she asked with concern.

"Yeah well we went out last night and I was sick again, and when we got back I asked him to get me something from my bag which I had something in there that he found and kind of went off about it.

"Oh what did he find? Was it a naked picture of a man? Oooh was it a naked picture of Luke that he didn't know you had!? I bet his butt looks even better than it does without jeans covering it"

"No Sookie, and stop thinking about my man's butt and focus please."

"Sorry, well what did he find?"

"Oh...um...he kind of found a… uh… pregnancy test..." she said screwing up her face preparing for squealing and maybe hugging.

"What?" Sookie dropped the bowl she was stirring and somehow flung the spoon behind her head hitting one of the kitchen hands in the back. She enveloped Lorelai in a tight bear hug. "Oh my god! You're pregnant!?"

"No! I mean I don't know... I haven't taken the test yet. Luke was mad I hadn't told him and went to stay at his apartment last night." She looked down fidgeting with her nails trying not to let the tears that were pooling in her eyes fall. "It was the first night he's slept over there since I came home from the hospital.

"Oh kitten it's OK, it's gonna be OK" she said giving Lorelai a soothing hug. "You know what Luke's like! He needs time to process and think it over. Look at how many years it took him to ask you out, and he's been so recluse for so long he's forgotten to let people into that head of his."

"I guess... it's just that we never have spoken of any possible kids, you know? Or if he wants them ever, and we haven't been together all that long and god what if I am pregnant and that was his reaction and he just leaves because he can't handle it, I don't wanna raise another kid on my own."

"I know sweetie, you just gotta take it one step at a time, you have to talk to him about all of this, and once you do I bet you by this evening he'll have thought this over and will be happy and you'll make up. Now you go back to your office before Michel throws a hissy and I'll bring you something to eat."

* * *

Around midday, Lorelai was feeling a bit better and was manning the front desk while Michel was taking his Lunch break. She was sorting through the enormous amount of work she needed to catch up on. It was providing a good distraction from her Luke drama, when a certain something or should I say someone, caught her eye. Keeping his head down, B-lining it to the door trying to not bring attention to himself was no-one other than Christopher himself.

"Christopher Frances Hayden! Where are you off to on your walk of shame?" She said with a cheek in her eye.

"Geez you sound like my mother..." he said giving in to the fact he was caught and walked over to the desk.

"Well I do a great impersonation of her I must say… So you spent all night here huh?"

"Yeah…"

"So that was a walk of shame I caught you doing?"

"Where's the shame?" He replied in his smug tone, which Lorelai dropped her mouth to. "Relax Lor, we just talked... Literally, all night. Rachel's great, amazing in fact."

"Yeah she is. Soooo..."

"If you must know, I'm taking her out for a date tomorrow before I have to get back to Boston. I thought I'd spend today with Rory, if that's OK?"

"Of course, you don't need to ask. You've always been welcome to see Rory whenever you want."

"Thanks Lor, I'll say bye before I leave..."

* * *

Back at the Diner, the Lunch rush had died down. Of course Luke had noticed the absence of his love from breakfast and now lunch. He worried that she thinks he is mad for not telling her. But he isn't, he was just in shock about what he found.

He had come back to his apartment which felt so cold and empty even with most of his stuff still there, but it was missing something that he had grown use to, and that was his Gilmore Girls. Nevertheless he got out a beer and took a swig settling down on his leather chair, thinking about a possible baby for him. _It wouldn't be too bad being a dad, having a kid with the women I love, it's the way we're supposed to do things right?_ He asked himself.

He had spent the rest of his evening thinking about everything to do with the subject, and Lorelai and Rory and his future with them. Truthfully he decided he couldn't see a future without them, no matter how hard he tried to think about his life before those girls it wasn't as nice, so he gave up on it and continued to think about what he currently had.

After pouring one of the latecomer's coffee, he went back to behind the counter and therapeutically began wiping it down, retraining his thoughts from the previous night and combined them with the worry of how he thought Lorelai would be dealing today. He felt bad, he needed to make this right, and he intended to do so. Looking at the clock he decided he had done enough today, especially considering he was there at 5.30 am doing deliveries and Caesar had the dinner shift covered.

"Hey Caesar, I'm out, you OK till Larry comes in?"

"Yeah sure thing boss" his Chef replied through the pass.

The first thing Luke did when he left the diner was head over to the Woodbridge supermarket. Gathering ingredient's for a luxurious dinner he had planned, then stopped by the florist for some 'I'm sorry' flowers, it wasn't the gesture he would normally do in such a situation and it wasn't the only gesture he had prepared but he needed to do anything and everything to let Lorelai know he meant what he said that first date, that he was 'all in'.

Once he was done in Woodbridge he headed back to the crap shack using his key that Rory had given him months ago to let himself in. Rory wasn't home she was out with her dad for the day so Luke got straight to work on dinner before Lorelai came home.

* * *

Soon after Chris had left to hang out with Rory, Rachel came down from her room and spotted Lorelai looking at her from behind the desk. When Rachel approached, Lorelai put her hands under her chin and plastered a playful look on her face that read 'I know what you did last night' even if nothing did happen.

"Hey Lorelai" Rachel said.

"Hey Rachel, only getting up just now? So did you have a late night last night then?" Lorelai joked.

Rachel looked sheepish and guilty. "Sorry, I know it's probably against your inn's rules –"

"Oh please it may be labelled 'inn' but it's still a hotel not a convent."

"Right well all we did was talk… We talked a lot actually."

"Yeah Chris said. So you two seemed to have hit it off?"

"Yeah we had a nice time, we just got to know each other and we're going out tomorrow… I hope this isn't weird for you? I mean, I know he's Rory's dad."

"What? As weird as it is with me going out with Luke? Rachel, it's fine, we're all adults, Just make sure he treats you right."

"I will." She said.

"And same goes for you. Chris and I may have our differences but he is still my oldest friend and Rory's dad, whatever this is between you two, don't end up hurting him, well eachother."

Rachel smiled and nodded. She then checked to see if anyone around. "Have you um used the thing yet?" she asked, curious about the little covert mission she was sent on the previous night

"No, not yet. Luke found it...and he kind of freaked so I haven't heard from him at all since last night." She said sadly

"That's Luke for you, but don't worry he'll come round and everything will work out with the two of you, I just know it."

"… You uh didn't tell Chris did you?"

"No of course not, I won't tell anyone unless you say it's OK, I promise."

"Thanks Rachel"

* * *

Bye early evening Lorelai was still at the Inn, still trying to catch up on paperwork despite Sookie's constant suggestions that she should go home soon but Lorelai didn't want to be home, she didn't want to face reality, she didn't want to face what was left lying on her dresser that morning, at least not while things were like this with Luke. Her thoughts were cut short when the phone began ringing.

"Independence Inn, Lorelai speaking." She answered.

"Hello Lorelai, it's your mother." Came the raspy tone of Emily.

"Oh hey mom"

"Good I finally caught you, I tried your cell but it must be off and I called your house but Luke said you were at work so here we are."

"…wait Luke was at home."

"Yes does that man ever go back to his hobble?" She said snidely.

Ignoring that comment Lorelai changed the subject. "So how's the vineyard?"

"The weather has been impeccable, but the people renting next door are absolutely tasteless, you can't even imagine what I've seen, I tried calling the owners but they are still in Bora Bora."

Lorelai sighed internally _rich people's problems._ "Well it sounds interesting, uh mom I am supposed to be working is there any reason you called?"

"Yes, I was just confirming that you're still joining us at the end of next week right."

"Yeah, Luke, Rory and I are actually looking forward to it, It might be nice to get away for a few days."

"Well I am glad, so we will see you, Rory and _Luke_ next week then, oh and tell Rory she can invite the Du Grey boy if she likes." She told her daughter, putting a little disdain on Luke's name.

"OK will do thanks mom she will be happy."

"Well alright then…" Emily started but then neither said anything nor hung up.

"Is that all mom?"

"Lorelai, did you hear Christopher is visiting in Hartford" She exclaimed.

"Wow mom, I'd never have guessed, considering he showed up to my house yesterday."

"Oh he did, that's good, how was it?"

"Uh actually we went out for dinner." She said skipping a few details to mess with her mother a bit.

"YOU DID! Oh I am so pleased, did Rory enjoy having a night out with her complete family?"

Lorelai had to roll her eyes at that, she knew what her mom was up to but it wasn't going to work. "Actually Rory stayed home she wasn't feeling well, so the four of us went to a nice Italian restaurant in Hartford."

"The four of you?" Emily questioned.

"Yeah, Me, Luke, Chris and Rachel."

"Who is Rachel!?" Emily demanded to know, she was furious her plan didn't work.

"Oh well we don't know what to call her just yet, she's a friend of mine and Luke's but very promisingly looks like Chris's new girl." She said with a smirk, she could feel her mother fuming through the phone line.

"Oh" all Emily said shortly.

"Well if that is all mom, I really have to get to work so I will see you next week, bye." She said quickly and hung up the phone.

Talking to her mother always exerts Lorelai's energy somehow, and her stamina wasn't up to her pre-accident pace, so she was exhausted, and remembering back to her mother mentioning Luke answered the home phone meant he was there. _Maybe he is ready to talk_ she thought, and decided enough work was done for the day and left the building.

* * *

Lorelai pulled into the driveway seeing Luke's truck out front, so he was definitely still there. She dragged herself out of the jeep and up to the front door, and soon as she opened it, the rich smells of whatever Luke was cooking, wafted to her nostrils. But before she could investigate she literally kicked off her heels, and grabbed the cane she was prescribed – she was that exhausted. Walking into the kitchen, dinner was prepare on the table, there was a table cloth and everything.

"Luke?"

"Hey, you're home I was getting worried, you didn't overdo it did you?" he asked noticing the cane, _there's the Luke I know and Love._

"Maybe just a tad" she admitted "What is all this?" Lorelai asked.

"Peace offering. I shouldn't have stormed out last night, I'm sorry, I hope you can forgive me."

"Oh Luke, no I'm sorry. I was going to tell you, honestly, but I'd literally just realized at the restaurant, then when we got home I just got distracted with the whole moving in stuff and I was tired, it just slipped my mind."

"Lorelai, I just want you to know that if this comes back positive or whatever happens, I am still all in, don't forget that, I just had to think about stuff, and I am so use to not having anyone to share with I just went back to my old ways."

"I get it Luke, so are we good?" She asked

"We're good" he confirmed and kissed her lips. "Oh and also, I booked you an appointment with the doctors for the day after tomorrow."

"What? Why?" She wasn't kidding when she said she was so over seeing doctors.

"Because you will need it if you are pregnant and if you're not then obviously you're not well and maybe they can see what is causing you to be sick."

"OK, I guess you're right… You take such good care of me." She said lacing her arms around his neck and tenderly their lips met, taking in one another, making up for the absence of last night. Luke pulled away before things were heated up though.

"I missed you last night." He confessed.

"So did I" she replied.

"So shall we eat?"

The two sat down and enjoyed the meal Luke had prepared for them. Rory was still out, enjoying a very rare dinner with her father before he left for Boston so Luke and Lorelai still had the place to themselves. They talked about their day over dinner, avoiding the looming elephant in the room. Once they finished desert, Lorelai climbed upstairs to get into some comfy sweats to relax in. Mid getting changed Luke joined her in the bedroom, she noticed he was eyeing up the box that had caused much drama for the pair in so little time. She walked over to it and picked it up.

"So I guess I should take this?" she asked, she wanted him to be OK with it.

"Now's as good a time as any." He assured her.

Lorelai went to the bathroom to take it and came out not long after putting the stick back on her dresser.

"Now what?" He asked, he wasn't familiar with these kinds of things so he unsure of what to do he just wanted to be there for her.

"Now we wait… 3 minutes to be exact, got your watch ready?"

Luke set the time of his watch and the pair sat on the foot of the bed.

"So can I ask you Luke, are you really gonna be OK with this? I mean if the outcome is positive" she asked apprehensively.

"Yes Lorelai, I will be, I mean we haven't discussed it, but when I was thinking last night, I came to the decision that I want this, but more importantly I want this with you."

She breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you Luke, you have no idea how much that means, I don't think I could take raising another kid alone, I mean I could do it but I don't want to. And for the record, anymore kids I have, I want them to be with you too."

Any other conversation they had been building up was cut off as Luke's watch began beeping. It was the moment of truth, Lorelai stood up and strode over to her dresser, she looked down at the stick, having memorized the results from the box... she saw a pink strip.

"Lorelai?" Luke said, he was anxious. She turned to him holding the stick and smiled slightly.

"You're going to be a dad..."

* * *

 **Big R... Little r... What begins with R.**  
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 **...please :D**


	17. Chapter 17

Sorry for the delay, this just took a bit to write and is by far the longest chapter, so enjoy.

* * *

 **Previously…**

 **Any other conversation they had been building up was cut off as Luke's watch began beeping. It was the moment of truth, Lorelai stood up and strode over to her dresser, she looked down at the stick, having memorized the results from the box she saw a pink strip.**

 **"Lorelai?" Luke said, he was anxious. She turned to him holding the stick and smiled slightly.**

 **"You're going to be a dad..."**

"What?" Luke asked, it wasn't that he didn't hear her, he needed that extra reassurance.

Lorelai gave him a watery smile. "You're going to be a dad." She repeated. "It's positive."

Luke had remained seated, he was in shock, all that thinking he had done the night before still wasn't enough. He was taking it in, once again his silence freaked out Lorelai.

Her smile vanished into worry. _He did say all in no matter what._ "Luke please say something!"

"You're pregnant?"

"Yes Luke we already established that."

"How did this happen?."

"Oh Lucas, did Stars Hollow High not teach you all about the birds and the bees?" she said to diffuse the tension.

"Lorelai" he warned. "I know all that I just meant, we were usually careful about these things."

"Huh, well let's see, I hadn't been on my pill since before the accident, I couldn't exactly have been on it first after the accident because... well of the whole unconscious thing and then I couldn't with the prescriptions I was given so whatever was in my system I guess had worn off –"

"So then it's my fault. Damn it! I am so sorry I must have forgotten my part of the protection, I'm such an idiot." He snapped, cursing himself.

"Hey now, Luke…" she said softly. "It's no single persons fault, it takes two to make whoopee, now this is just something that happens, it will be OK."

"How can you be calm Lorelai, you're body has gone through something traumatic and now it has to deal with this, I am so sorry."

"OK Luke don't apologize, stop this talk, yeah I was in an accident but I am trying to get over it… that is if you will let me! And if you have any concerns you can come to the doctor's appointment and chew his or her ear off all about them. Now please tell me that is all you're worried about, because how I see it, is two people in love created a new life and this baby will be so loved because of that, it will be loved this town, by its big sister, by me as its mom and by you as its most caring and protective dad.

He took in everything she was saying, and that last bit gave him warmth in his heart. Luke suddenly smiled and stood up to hug her. "I'm going to be a dad..." he whispered in her ear.

"You're going to be a great one..." Lorelai reassured him.

"I can't believe it... It's our child..." he said placing his large rough hand on her abdomen.

"I know. It's crazy... But be honest, are you happy about this?" She asked cautiously.

"Yes… Yeah… Of course! Did I not mention that? I'm having a child with the woman I love!" He smiled and kissed her.

* * *

Later that evening, Rory returned from spending the day with her dad. "Mom? Luke? Anybody home?" She called out.

"We're up here! Come up!" Lorelai replied from her bedroom.

Rory went upstairs but then stopped. "Wait, is everyone decent?" She joked.

Lorelai laughed. "Yes we're decent! Come in hon!"

Rory went in and saw her mom cuddled up to Luke and Luke had his arm round her. She smiled at the sight. "Well you seem happy with yourselves!" She joked.

"We are, so scram before you see anything you wouldn't want to" Her mom joked back.

"But, you told me to come in here…"

"I'm just messing with ya, geez kid you're turning into Luke"

"That wouldn't be so bad, at least I would keep whatever sanity that is still intact" she retorted, which made Luke snigger and Lorelai gasp.

"Hush now my little Judas!"

"OK OK, so what's up mom, why are you guys up here? Why aren't you partying with the homies?"

"Well A. It's Sunday evening in Stars Hollow, all the homies are in bed. And B…" Lorelai and Luke shared a look and smiled. "Well… hon sit down. We have some news." She said.

Rory eyed them and sat down. "What news?"

"How do you feel about being a big sister?" Lorelai said in a kind of vague way.

"What?" asked a confused Rory.

Lorelai took a deep breath suddenly worried about her daughter's reaction. She had been so happy that she didn't even think about how Rory would take the news, she would have no heads up on the matter, this was the first of any information she was getting. Luke squeezed her hand noticing her hesitation. "I...um...took a pregnancy test today..." She said.

Rory's eyes widened as she looked between the pair. She suddenly remembered how her mom had not been feeling well recently. _Could this be why?_ _Does this mean what I think it means?_ She thought to herself.

"I'm pregnant." Lorelai said, waiting for Rory's reaction.

"Seriously?" She said, and both Luke and Lorelai nodded. "Oh my god! Oh my god!" Rory suddenly squealed, launching herself at her mom and Luke, it was a kind of a dog-piled hug, but both parents hugged her back, relieved that she found the news to be good. To any stranger looking from the outside in, it would have looked like the most perfect family that always had been together, except now in Rory's head; it now seemed like they would be always together from here on out. "I'm so happy for you!"

"So you're OK with this?" Lorelai asked once Rory let her breathe again.

"Are you kidding me? I'm going to have a little brother or sister!" Rory beamed excitedly and hugged just only her mom.

Luke smiled at this. "This kid is going to be luckiest kid in the world having you two as parents! I swear no one deserves this more than you two" She smiled, then turned specifically to Luke for his own hug. "You'll be a great dad, you already are." She whispered into his ear.

Luke was touched by her reaction. _What did she mean I already am?_ He could be clueless sometimes.

"Oh gosh I need to ring Tristan and Lane!" Rory grinned, rushing off the bed to leave the room.

"Okay hon, but ONLY those two! I don't want the whole town knowing yet." Lorelai said.

"I second that" Luke interjected.

Rory nodded understanding.

"Oh wait, tell me how your day was with your dad?" Lorelai asked.

"Oh it was fine! Same ol' dad really" Rory replied hastily and raced out the room, she needed to tell her boyfriend and best friend this good news before she was going to burst, she can always tell them how her day was with Christopher later.

"Oh Rory! I forgot something" Lorelai called, suddenly remembering talking to her mother.

Rory appeared at the door again. "Yeah?"

"Your grandma rang. She said you can invite Tristan to the vineyard if you want."

"Oh OK!" Rory said happily and disappeared again.

"See I told you she would take it well." Luke smiled and kissed Lorelai on the forehead.

Lorelai smiled at him. "She's an amazing kid." She said.

"That she is. Must be something to do with the woman who raised her" Luke nodded.

"…and the man who helped." Giving Luke a pointed look who shook his head denying it. "Oh come on Luke, you are part of why she is who she is, you fed her, took care of her when I asked or when there was a need to, you kept her safe and stopped her house from falling down around her, its more than what Christopher ever did, sure he gave her the primordial ooze that created her, but do you wanna know what I think?"

"Sure why not?" he said

"I think, that the man who holds that special place in her heart reserved for a dad is you not Chris, I mean of course he's in there too somewhere, he's her father in the formal sense of the word, and he seems to have grown up a little more recently and I never want to bad mouth him so I won't. But you? You are her daddy, and seems like you have been for a while."

"I mean I don't want to replace Christopher, even if he is a slime-ball, and I don't want to step on his or any one else's toes, but why do you say that? What makes you so sure?"

"I've just noticed your relationship lately, and how close you two have become ever since the accident, but neither of you didn't, and that's when I realized maybe the reason you didn't notice was because it's always been like that for you two."

Luke thought about it for a moment, he certainly loved Rory like she was his but was what Lorelai saying true? Did she love him like a dad? He wanted to ask Rory himself, but that would be a weird thing to just suddenly bring up, maybe in the right time and place he could try.

* * *

Meanwhile...

Rory went downstairs and rang Tristan's number.

"Hey Mary!" Tristan answered.

"Hey! I thought you agreed to stop calling me that!" Rory said.

Tristan chuckled. "Sorry, I'll find a new nickname for you soon enough. What's up?"

"Firstly, I want to officially invite you to Martha's Vineyard next week." She grinned.

"Martha's vineyard? Isn't that your family holiday at your grandparents place?" He asked.

"Yeah but I have received word that my grandma said I could invite you. Plus Luke's coming and he will probably need the moral support!" She said.

"Oh sounds good but I'm going sailing with some friends for a couple of weeks on one of their yachts, but there is this massive summer beach party happening there next weekend that the boys won't be missing so we are stopping there for a few days." He said.

"Ok that sounds good! That's when we will be there too"

"Cool so I can meet up with you and spend some alone time with my girl then."

"Well if you insist"

"Oh I do, spending time with a bunch of guys in confined quarters can turn into not a good time, plus I will miss you."

"Aww that's sweet, who knew you had that in you. So it's a plan?"

"It's a plan, I'll contact you when we dock and meet you at your grandparents."

"Ok… So do you want to hear the amazing news now?" Rory said excitedly.

"What, more exciting than you and I on summer vacation together?" He chuckled.

"My mom's pregnant!"

"Wow! That is big. And I take it by your high pitch squeal that you're happy about this." He joked.

"Ha ha! It is exciting though! I'm going to be a big sister!"

"And you'll be a great one! That's great news. What did your grandparents say?"

"Uh I am 100% sure they don't know yet, so don't say anything about it while we are there ok?"

"Got it. Say congratulations to your mom and Luke from me."

"I will! Anyway I better go. I need to ring Lane."

"Ok see you!"

"Bye!"

Rory then rang her best friend giving her the same high pitched squeal of news she just gave her boyfriend then swore her to secrecy, and not to mention anything about it where her mom could be listening, Lorelai Gilmore pregnant again out of wedlock is not what Mrs Kim would like to hear.

* * *

Monday morning came around and so did a bout of Lorelai's morning sickness, but this time she didn't mind as much as she had been, she now knew the reason why she was throwing up and was happy about it, well as much as one can be when their body convulses against their own will.

When she rushed into her upstairs bathroom early in the morning, Luke had followed ready to hold back her hair, rub her back, and be waiting with a glass of water. The man was determined to everything right by this, because his thoughts from the previous night still loomed in his head.

Once Lorelai was done, she managed to shower and get pretty for work, even though Luke protested she shouldn't and take it as a sick day but she wouldn't budge, she actually loved her job plus she needed to update Sookie. She went down stairs to find some breakfast and coffee to get her through to lunch time, when she walked into the kitchen Rory was sitting at the table with a plate of eggs and bacon and Luke at the stove finishing off Lorelai's own, she kissed each of them morning and headed to the coffee pot.

What Lorelai didn't notice was Rory being coffee-less and the smirks she and Luke exchanged. Pouring herself a cup-of-joe she stopped when the mug was near the vicinity of her nose.

"This is decaf!" she announced. Rory kept eating, staring with intent down at her plate to avoid her mother's eyes and Luke ignored her carrying on cooking. "Uh hello? I said this is decaf!"

"What are you talking about? No it isn't" Luke tried convincing her.

"Excuse me yes it is!"

"Did you even try it?"

"I don't have to, remember I have 'the-nose' and the nose knows this isn't my regular coffee"

"Well… I… I just bought a different brand, it probably tastes different or your taste buds are out of whack from throwing up this morning." Said Luke innocently.

"Oh don't pacify me Lucas Danes, you and I both know this is your attempt into giving me decaffeinated coffee when I only have the real thing, admit it!"

"FINE, I give in, it's decaf, god forbid me to try and keep you healthy while you are carrying our child."

"AH HA! I knew it and I must say you caved too easily." Then she turned to Rory "And YOU my young Brutus let him do it, under my own roof too, shame on you." She said shaking her head in feigning disappointment."

"In my defense I knew he wouldn't get away with it, I just wanted to see him try." Rory said.

"Why do I bother…?" Luke mumbled to himself.

"I was asking myself the same question babe, why do you bother?"

"Because I love you and want you to reach your 50th birthday?" he reasoned.

"Aww there's my gruff man with the heart of gold." She said and went in for a tender kiss on the lips.

* * *

When Lorelai arrived at the inn, she hightailed it to the kitchen to get some real coffee she knew Sookie would have prepared fresh. Upon arriving, she found Sookie propped up on a stool with an ice-pack held on her head.

"Sookie what happened? What did you do this time?"

"I…Uh… and that went… Uh… and… then he…" she stumbled through not really using words but kind of trying to re-create the scene sitting still, flailing her arms around.

"OK now in English please Marcel Marceau? Is this gonna cost the inn some insurance?" she said pouring her coffee and sitting on a spare stool in front of her best friend.

"Basically I hit myself in the head with a frying pan. I'll be fine the guys told me to sit and hold this ice and not move anything"

"I am interested in how you managed to do that but I have a feeling it was a 'you had to be there' moment"

"Yeah I totally didn't see it coming, but I'll be fine, no doctors needed… how about you? Are you needing a doctor, you know a certain kind of one like an OB/GYN?" she whispered to Lorelai.

"Smooth segue… but if you must know… Yes it looks like it." This made Sookie squeal and jump off her stool, almost tripping up over it but Lorelai caught her stumble and made her sit back down, giving her the hug anyway. "Oh my gosh! This is so exciting, you and Luke! You and Luke and baby, just think, your eyes and his butt"

"His butt is very nice, you need to stop thinking about it though, remember you have a boyfriend and I believe he has his own posterior." Lorelai said.

"You're right… but I am too excited for you."

"Thanks Sook, and you know what? I am kind of excited too." She said with a smile.

* * *

Mid-morning arrived, Lorelai was behind the front desk sorting through the mail and bickering with Michel. She had a glimpse of Deja vu as she saw Christopher walking down the stairs once more.

"Oh come on now, twice in a row? Really Chris? I take it you weren't just talking all night this time?"

"… and what if we weren't? We are all adults here, got a problem?" he defended.

Lorelai shrugged not actually caring that much. "Nope, no problems here, I am just surprised to see you, I thought you were going back to Boston yesterday."

"Yeah that was the original plan, but Rachel and I got carried away it just got too late to ride back and I didn't want to say goodbye in such a hurry."

"So you spent all night giving her the perfect departing gift?" Lorelai replied.

"And she was very very grateful." He said with a cocky grin.

"OK uh-uh! Too much! That was too slimy even for you" she said disgusted. Just then Rachel had come down stairs carrying a man's shirt and some photography gear.

"Oh good, Chris, glad I caught you, you left this upstairs, wouldn't want you to have gone all the way back to Boston without it."

"But now I have no reason to come back here." He said giving her a kiss.

OK that annoyed Lorelai. _Uh you do have a reason Christopher… YOUR DAUGHTER! Not to mention your parents and the place you grew up!_ She had to stop this kissy-fest and decided to clear her throat.

"Oh hey Lorelai" Rachel said awkwardly putting on a smile.

"I should go, I'll call you when I get home" Chris said and then turned to Lorelai "don't worry I'll also call Rory too." he said knowing her thoughts.

"I'll let her know, drive safe Chris."

He gave Rachel another quick kiss goodbye and walked out of the inn. Rachel turned to Lorelai, she felt awkward that Lorelai had witnessed all that.

"I'm sorry if that was weird for you…"

"It's fine Rachel, honestly, seems like you two had a good time yesterday… and last night" she said wanting the gossip, even if it is about her ex and the father of her child.

"Yeah, we just really connected you know?"

"I do know, that is why I suggested we have dinner the other night, so what did you guys get up to? I mean outside of your suite."

Rachel blushed at that comment. "Well we had lunch over in Woodbridge and he showed me where he grew up in Hartford and I showed him all around here, like my favorite spots even the ones I went to as a kid, by the way he loves that old inn and definitely thinks you and Sookie should go for it."

That confused Lorelai. "Wait what old inn?"

"Oh that's right I never got a chance to show you that day, here let's see if I still have it." She said rummaging through her bag. "Ah-ha here it is." And handed Lorelai a photo of a dilapidated building.

Lorelai had to squint to recognize it but she eventually did. "Oh wow this is the old Dragonfly inn, this place use to be beautiful."

"Yeah, I know right, Sookie was telling me about your plans to start your own inn and I thought this could be the perfect place."

"Wow thanks so much I'll definitely look into but it might be a few years till that road begins, you know gain some funds and deal with... other stuff keeps getting in the way…"

"By stuff you mean…?" Rachel questioned, both knew she was meaning about the pregnancy which Lorelai only nodded to. "Wow that's great, so did Luke come round then?"

"Yeah you were right he was just in shock, but he seems happy about it now which is good."

"Told you he would, but wow Luke Danes as a dad, can't say I ever imagined that."

"Oh really, I did, he's been like a dad to Rory for years" she blurted out not thinking who she was talking too. "Oh please don't tell Chris I said that."

"Don't worry I won't and I get it anyway, but for now I am going to do some house hunting, wish me luck." Rachel said and left to explore some new digs.

* * *

The next day, Lorelai had her doctor's appointment that Luke had set up and Luke went with her. She arrived and was called in pretty much on time. She explained to the doctor about her taking a home pregnancy test that came out positive and the doctor decided a blood test would be the most evident way to go.

"Before we draw your blood, I have some questions for you. When was your last period?"

"Uh I am not exactly sure, see I was in an accident and was in a coma for 5 weeks, so it could have been during then but I don't know, and hasn't happened since before the accident."

"Right this is a peculiar circumstance, I am just going to check your medical records in the database for any signs of complications and notes from Hartford Memorial, whilst I do that, I'll have the nurse take your blood sample. How does that sound?"

"Sounds fine, not the blood part but the other stuff, not really keen on needles and have had enough of them recently."

"I don't blame you, it's not a fun experience, but it's very quick. I'll be back soon." He said leaving the room, and a nurse quickly entered, she took Lorelai's blood and left the room. There was a little while before someone returned, when the door opened the doctor came back in except he was now accompanied with another female doctor.

"Sorry that took longer than I thought, well I'm pleased to tell you that you are definitely pregnant. Congratulations! So Lorelai, Luke, I would like to introduce to you Doctor Harper, she's our in house Obstetrician, I was just conferring with her over your recent hospitalization and see if there is any reason to be concerned.

"Is everything alright?" Luke asked worriedly.

"I'm sure everything is just fine, just with Lorelai not knowing when her last period was and because she had to have surgery in her abdomen, its best we try an ultra sound today to at least see how far along everything is, so if you will follow me to my room we can get you set up." They did as she ask thanking the other doctor on the way out, Lorelai was sent into a room to change into a medical gown – a fashion item she did not miss.

She came out and laid down on the table where Doctor Harper examined everything she needed and then had Lorelai expose her currently flat belly.

"OK so we will try the abdominal ultrasound first and if the baby is too small we may have to try a vaginal one." Luke felt so awkward being present, he understood the doctor had to do her job but he really hated medical practices.

Doctor Harper placed some of the famous icy cold gel on Lorelai's stomach and began sliding the transducer around trying to get a clear image.

"There…" she said tilting the screen towards the couple. "There's your baby."

Lorelai blindly reached out for Luke's hand without daring to look away from the screen, he squeezed her hand in response he was stunned at the image he was seeing.

"So things look relatively normal, and it looks to be about 6 weeks along, sometimes we can try hear a heartbeat around now, so I am going to turn the sound on." She announced. A sort-of muffled thumping entered the room and tears sprung to both Lorelai's and Luke's eyes.

* * *

After she was done Lorelai went and changed back into her clothes and the doctor smiled at them. "I want you to make an appointment for 4 weeks in time, and I will prescribe you some prenatal vitamins. I suggest you adjust your diet, take it easy on the junkfood and go hard with the fruit and veggies" Luke silently found victory whilst Lorelai loudly groaned.

"Here is some visual copies of today's scan for you to show off. Congratulation's again and if you have any problems feel free to call me." Doctor Harper bid them farewell. Lorelai and Luke smiled and nodded. They made the appointment and then drove back to Star Hollow.

During the ride Lorelai looked across at Luke, there were things they needed to discuss. "Luke?" she said getting his attention.

"Yeah?" he said keeping his eyes on the road.

"You know we said that we would talk about you maybe moving in at some point..." She said hesitantly.

"Yeah?" He said hiding a smirk.

"Well maybe we could talk about it now?" She said nervously.

"Maybe..."

Lorelai looked at him, she was already anxious as it is. Then she saw his mouth twitch. "You're teasing me!"

Luke chuckled. "I have been thinking about it more recently actually, the other night when I went back to my apartment… I didn't like it, living with you made me realize how much I miss having a family." He admitted.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. But there are three of us in this decision. I would love to move in with you but Rory needs to have a say in it, I want her comfortable with it." He said.

Lorelai smiled at this _I love that he considers Rory's feelings, what did I do to deserve this man?_ "Yeah we'll talk to her about it at home. I kind of already talked to her about it but we can discuss it all together and if she's OK, are we on the same page?"

"We're on the same page, besides who do you expect to build the nursery." Luke smiled glancing at her, taking her hand in his and holding it lovingly all the way home.

They soon got back to the Crap Shack and found Rory spread out on the couch reading yet another book. She turned when she heard the door and sat up smiling at them. "Hey! How was the doctor's appointment?"

"It was good! I'm definitely pregnant so behold your future sibling." Lorelai smiled presenting her a copy of the sonogram and taking a seat next to her daughter.

"Good!" Rory smiled, she tried to spot a baby in the picture, she knew it would be tiny but she couldn't see a thing. "Uh mom… what do I look at?"

"Oh right, uhh see there? That little blob? That's it." She said pointing at the picture.

"Oh it's crazy to think that's going to get bigger and be a person one day. But I am happy for you two." Said Rory, she then noticed Luke standing awkwardly by the couch. "Everything's OK right?"

Lorelai saw she was concerned at Luke's awkwardness and decided now's the time to 'chat'. "Yeah don't worry. But there is something we'd like to talk about with you."

"Ok..."

Lorelai invited Luke to sit down next to her. "Hon, how would you feel if Luke moved in? As in permanently" She asked.

"I thought we already talked about this?" Rory asked.

"Yeah… I mean that was just in passing, this is like the official decree, the contract of no boys allowed will be broken" Lorelai said suddenly nervous again like she was when she told Rory she was pregnant.

"I don't want to if it would make you feel uncomfortable." Luke said. "You have as much a say in this as we do."

Rory looked between them and then smiled. "It's about time! I thought I would have to drag you back here after closing the diner, myself! and mom that rule never really applied to Luke anyway, he's been coming here for years, with all the repairs he's done its partially his home too really"

"So you're ok with this?" Luke asked.

"Of course I am, does this mean we get coffee and pancakes in our actual kitchen?" She grinned.

Luke rolled his eyes. "You're as bad as your mother!"

Lorelai laughed "Are you sure you wanna move in with us babe?"

"Yes, lord knows why! But yes I do." He looked back his Gilmore girls and both of them grinning at him.

* * *

So the rest of the week between work and movie nights, the girls and Luke started packing boxes and moving them from the apartment to the crap shack. Luke was adamant about Lorelai not lifting anything heavy, if he really had his way she wouldn't lift anything at all, but she assured him she was fine.

As each box arrive they were able to quickly find homes for all of his stuff; that meant Lorelai had to throw out some clothes to make closet space, and whatever they couldn't fit in the house went into the garage.

Of course that required its own clean out but Luke made short work of it, he used common sense to the things that needed chucking and kept whatever was necessary or the whatever 'real' nostalgia the girls had to items.

One night when Luke returned home, Lorelai had a surprise waiting for him upstairs. No it was nothing dirty, but he went searching for her he didn't find her in now 'their' bedroom. She was next door in the tiny room she used for sewing. Only now it had no signs of ever being a sewing room, she stood in the center of the empty room and held out her hands.

"Surprise!"

"What's this? Where's your stuff" he was confused.

"Well some moved into our room, and some is down stairs, and the rest is in the attic or the garage."

"Why did you do that, I told you no lifting anything."

"Oh please Luke I am fine, I did this because I was thinking this could be the perfect nursery for our little junior. And look I found the old Rocking chair I used when Rory was a baby in the garage." She said gesturing to the chair sitting in the corner. "I forgot I had it brought over from the potting shed when we moved here."

Luke was stunned, it was becoming more real to him and now he could visualize a crib along one wall and a teddy bear theme.

"Luke say something, please don't be mad, besides Rory helped move the chair up here."

"I am not mad, I was just thinking… this is perfect Lorelai… you're perfect."

"Back at ya, babe!" she said giving him a kiss and both wrapped their arms around each other, lost in thought of the little person who was going to occupy this space.

* * *

 **Soooo, thoughts? Long? Boring? Fluffy? I need to know!**

 **Please loyal readers, Review! XX**


	18. Chapter 18

Sorry about the wait, I was suffering from a combo of sinus infection and whiplash... wasn't fun.

* * *

 **Previously…**

 **Luke was stunned, it was becoming more real to him and now he could visualize a crib along one wall and a teddy bear theme.**

" **Luke say something, please don't be mad, besides Rory helped move the chair up here."**

" **I am not mad, I was just thinking… this is perfect Lorelai… you're perfect."**

" **Back at ya, babe!" she said giving him a kiss and both wrapped their arms around each other, lost in thought of the little person who was going to occupy this space.**

* * *

Luke was completely moved in and settled by the end of the week, just in time for their trip to Martha's Vineyard. Lorelai was looking forward to a little holiday, she needed to unwind, dip her toes in the sand and get some rays. However she was also dreading what her mom could get up to, and the fact she would have to try hide this pregnancy until she was ready to tell her parents, or the baby told them for her.

She knew her mom was still not that keen about her and Luke's relationship so she was dreading her finding out about him moving in, maybe if she told her that first she would be too hung up to notice the non- alcohol drinking and throwing up at random hours behavior. Her dad was being a bit warmer towards Luke, it was still a little awkward, but that was Richard for you, he was in his element with business transactions and golf but small talk with the man doing his daughter wasn't his forte.

It was early Friday morning, the three of them were bustling around the crapshack, well Lorelai was, Luke and Rory had been ready for 15 minutes now, the truck was locked and loaded with their luggage, so they didn't understand why she was taking so long.

"Mom hurry up!" Rory called up. "We have to go now if we don't want to miss the ferry!"

"Alright, alright! Keep your hair on!" Lorelai said coming down the stairs. She saw Luke and Rory sitting in the living room giving her a glare.

"You've been up there for an hour!" Rory complained. "We were meant to leave 15 minutes ago!"

"Well it takes me that long to make myself presentable… and your sibling decided it didn't like the breakfast it was given so don't blame me, blame little bomber here" She grinned patting her non-existent belly.

"Little bomber?" Rory question.

"Yes because this baby was quite a bombshell."

Luke rolled his eyes at the lame pun. "Well you seem to be feeling better and you always look lovely. Now come on!" He said walking towards the door.

"Such a gentleman!" Lorelai joked sarcastically.

Rory did smirk at that and they followed Luke out. They all got into Luke's truck and set off for the vineyard.

* * *

They drove two and a half hours from Stars Hollow to New Bedford - Maine, catching the morning ferry which took an hour, and finally made it to the luxury island, from there it wasn't a long drive to the Gilmore's summer 'batch' which really was just another mansion.

"I need a lie down... I've got a headache" Luke groaned as they got their luggage out of the back and walked towards the door.

"Aw hon, don't you like the bangles? You should have said!" Lorelai joked.

"Not when I hear you two sing their repertoire of songs over and over again in an off key!" He growled.

"Sorry Luke!" Rory grinned. "But that is a necessity of our road trips. You better get used to it now!"

"So much work...not to mention you two fighting over the last mallomar" He muttered.

He was about to ring the doorbell when the door opened.

"I thought I heard voices." Emily said. "What are you doing standing outside?"

"Hi mom!" Lorelai forced a smile.

"Hello Lorelai." She replied. She then smiled at Rory. "Rory! It's great to see you." Lorelai rolled her eyes, _Oh of course it's great to see Rory, never mind your daughter._

"You too Grandma! Thanks for inviting us!" She smiled giving her a hug.

Emily then turned to Luke. "Hello Luke. So glad you could join us." She smiled sweetly.

"Thanks for inviting me, Mrs Gilmore. It's lovely here." He said politely.

"Yes it is." She said snidely. Her eyes then narrowed when she saw the truck. "God those neighbors have some nerve. Parking a hideous truck in our driveway!" She exclaimed going inside.

"Oh, uh that's mine, Mrs Gilmore." He said uncomfortably.

"Oh, well…It's...rustic..." _We're going to have to hide that in the garage before anyone sees it._ She thought and then turned to Lorelai. "I thought you would be driving your car?"

"We were going to but Luke's truck just made more sense. It had space for our luggage." Lorelai said calmly.

"Where did Rory sit? There's hardly any space!" Emily said.

"Oh I rode with the luggage, Grandma. Great breeze!" Rory joked.

"What?" Emily said aghast. She then saw her daughter and granddaughter giggling and even Luke was trying to hide a smirk. "Very funny!"

They went and joined Richard in the living room, it was opened planned connecting to a dining room with a kitchen that had a patio looking out the entire beach.

"This really is lovely Mom, the view is stunning." Lorelai said looking round the place. "Could we possibly dump our luggage though?"

"Of course follow me." They followed her upstairs, heaving the bags with them, though Luke gave Lorelai the lightest ones to save their cover but he wasn't happy about it, they stopped in a hallway of many doors, Emily indicated that between two rooms on either side is a connecting bathroom. "So there are 5 bedrooms, Richard and I are in the master at the end of the hall, Rory, you're through there." She pointed to one room on the right. "Oh and when Tristan gets here he is opposite you on the left. Now Lorelai, you're in that other room on the right, and Luke's opposite you through there." Emily said.

"Oh no. Mom, no way!"

"What's the matter Lorelai, it's a nice enough room."

"Mother we're not teenagers nor is this the 1940's, we're not having separate rooms." Lorelai said incredulously.

"Lorelai its fine…" Luke muttered but Lorelai ignored him.

Rory tried to stifle a laugh which resulted in an elbow in her arm from her mom. Richard had now joined them wanting to see if Emily's plan was even remotely going to work, Lorelai was a stubborn one, so of course he knew it wasn't but he still wanted to see her try.

"Yes come on Emily. They are both adults, and we all know what ever attempts to save Lorelai's innocence is too late, we know she isn't exactly pure, just look at Rory." Richard said.

 _Did my father just insinuate I'm a tart?_ "Gee thanks dad!" She honestly didn't know if she should be offended by that.

There was an awkward silence before Emily spoke, because let's be honest they were all thinking the same thing as Richard.

Emily sighed knowing that she was going to lose the battle no matter what she does, _if they did have separate rooms, I know Lorelai would just sneak into Luke's room when everyone is asleep_ "Very well, you two can share that room, it has the ocean view." She said.

"Thanks." Lorelai said dragging Luke into their room.

Just after midday, they had all unpacked and were sat outside overlooking the water, and because the ocean wasn't enough, the house also had its own swimming pool, that Lorelai now was sitting on the edge of dangling her feet in the water.

Emily had come down stairs after a quick nap searching for her family, once she found them outside she felt she had to quickly put a stop to that.

"What are you all doing out here?!"

"Uh enjoying the sun on our summer vacation…" Lorelai replied.

"You can't be out here!"

"Oh I so hope you are going to tell me why, because spending months bed ridden indoors was enough to almost make me a serial killer and I really need this right now."

"Because… she's at it again?"

"She who?" Rory interjected.

"That blonde gold digging bimbo next door!"

"Wow mom, you kiss my father with that mouth?" Lorelai joked.

"I am serious, I would say go look for yourself, but she's topless again, she does it every day so we haven't been able to enjoy the lovely view on this nice patio that we paid for, remind me next year to rent a place with more land, away from neighbours."

"Ok I will, but I need to see what the big deal is" Lorelai quickly hopped up and walked to the edge of the patio which was raised higher than the neighbours, and had a straight view in the neighbour's yard.

"Oh I am not being any part of this" Emily huffed and went back inside.

"I second that" Luke said and followed, as did Rory.

Lorelai saw the women in question, so this is the neighbours from hell her mother spoke about on the phone. She had bleached platinum blonde hair and golden tanned body, she was topless but still had bikini bottoms on, and Lorelai got a full frontal shot of the silicon double-d's.

 _Hmm I wonder who paid for those?_ She thought, then a rather old gentleman in nothing but a speedo and saggy skin brought out a cocktail and gave her a sloppy heated kiss before going back inside. _Oh well that answers that question and there's the gold digger part I guess._

Lorelai hadn't noticed how long she had been staring, but the bleach blondie did.

"Why don't you take a picture?!" she called out to Lorelai. But she had dealt with her fair share a snarky females in her time, she was the daughter of Emily Gilmore after all, and had learnt a thing or two just by watching the Gilmore matriarch.

"Oh but what for?" she said innocently.

"Uh so it would last longer…" the blonde replied

"Well I would but I am sure I could find plenty of you on busty com… besides I left my camera upstairs and if I go get it I might miss something."

"You're such a perv and a freak!"

"Thank you, and must I say it's so nice how close you and your father are, oh and I love your tattoo, it goes well with the cellulite."

The blonde screamed out in frustration as if she was only 14 years old, and stormed back inside the house. Lorelai considered that a triumph then went to the door leading to the inside, calling out "its ok you can come out now!"

Emily quickly came to the door checking to see that the girl was gone. "How did you do that? We've been here for weeks and haven't managed to do that"

"Oh mom I can't tell you all my trade secrets, but looks like the outdoors is yours… for now anyway."

The others had followed out, Luke carried a tray of fruit and other goodies knowing the girls wouldn't dare eat the fruit. They all enjoyed the afternoon sun, and were discussing plans for the evening.

"Oh mom we should so introduce Grandma and Grandpa to the official Gilmore Movie Night tonight!" Rory said thinking it might bring everyone together.

"Um I don't know hon... I doubt it's their thing." Lorelai said.

"Mom you thought it wouldn't be Luke's thing but he puts up with it most nights!" Rory pointed out.

"Most nights?" Emily caught on quickly. "Luke it seems you are always at that house even now Lorelai is better, do you ever go to your apartment anymore?" She asked accusingly.

Rory realised her slip up and gave her mom an apologetic look.

Lorelai sighed and fought back the anger she felt at the insult. "Actually mom, there's something I need to tell you… Luke has officially moved in with us so it's not technically his apartment anymore." She said.

"You're living with them in their house?" Richard asked surprised.

"Um yes sir..." He said nervously.

"…and I suppose you're sharing a bed with Lorelai?" Emily asked.

"Uh yes ma'am…"

There was another awkward silence.

"It's great, he makes us feel safe, not that we didn't before, but he forces us to have the doors locked at night and we get coffee and pancakes in the morning in our actual kitchen and we don't have to walk the 3 blocks to the diner now!" Rory said trying to break the tension.

Richard surprised them all by chuckling. "Well I guess that is a change from your usual."

Rory grinned and Lorelai let out the breath she was holding.

"So movie night? Are you up for it tonight?" She asked.

Everyone agreed and started planning which movie night snacks to scope out at the store for.

"So when is Tristan arriving Rory? We are so excited to see him." Emily gushed.

"Tomorrow sometime. He's with some friends tonight and then will come by tomorrow." Rory smiled at the thought of seeing her boyfriend again.

"And it's going well between you two?" She asked.

"Yes very well." Rory smiled.

But Emily just nodded, she was concerned about this. _Hopefully not too well, we cannot have another teen Lorelai even if that is her birth name._

* * *

Later that evening, Rory and Lorelai had laid out a selection of movies from Lorelai's bag which she had brought with them from the crapshack. There were a good selection that all of them would enjoy, or try too if you are Luke Danes. They also had gone to the local shop to buy the staples of junk food; Milk duds, red vines, popcorn, mallomar's and much more.

"Please tell me you're not going to eat all that!" Emily said horrified, staring down at the mountain of sugary confection and sodium infused goods.

"Of course we are!" Lorelai grinned.

"But it's so unhealthy!"

"I always tell them that, trust me it's not worth losing your breath over, they won't listen." Luke grumbled.

"It's so good, grandma! Try a red vine!" Rory grinned.

"I will do no such thing."

"Some of those things do look appealing." Richard mused attempting to take some milk duds.

"Richard! Remember what your doctor said, you are on a strict diet, I don't want another episode like in winter."

"Oh Emily a few sweets isn't going to cause me to go into cardiac arrest, you're on vacation, relax dear."

"I see where you get it from now." Luke commented, making Lorelai and Rory grin.

Lorelai put on the first movie and then sat on the end of the sofa where Rory was sitting at the other end, leaving Luke in the middle and Emily and Richard were sitting in the armchairs. Lorelai leaned against the arm of the chair to begin with placing her feet in Luke lap who subconsciously started rubbing them.

The movie started and everyone settled down. Lorelai had put on a classic everyone would enjoy; Casablanca.

Not long into it Rory looked over at her mom, who was enjoying her foot rub a little more than she should and smirked before throwing a mallomar at her to snap her out of her pampered daze.

Lorelai gasped. "Oh no you didn't!" She said retaliating by throwing some popcorn back at her.

"Honestly you two! I thought we were meant to be silent! That's what you told us beforehand with your hamming on about movie night rules." Emily said.

"Don't even bother trying. They do this every time. Just feel lucky you're not in the middle of it." Luke commented whilst picking a piece of popcorn out his hair.

"I see..." Emily said.

"Aw Luke are you feeling left out?" Lorelai grinned throwing another handful of popcorn at him. Rory giggled and threw some popcorn at him too.

"Right! You sit right by that arm of the sofa and watch the movie" He bellowed forcing Lorelai to sit upright and forced her hands her lap and turned to Rory to do the same. "Rory, you sit by that arm and watch the movie." Luke ordered and gathered up the junk food. "You will get this back when I can trust you with it." He said putting it by his feet on the coffee table and folding his arms.

"Meanie!" Lorelai pouted.

"Spoilsport." Rory grumbled.

Luke smirked watching them sulk, knowing it wouldn't last long.

Emily was also watching the three of them, she and Richard were both trying to hide a smirk too. She couldn't help but notice how Luke handled them and how they interacted with him too, he let them have their fun and games and it looked like Luke's annoyed reaction was almost a part of it, like an act they had practiced time and time again.

Towards the end of the film, Emily had gotten so engrossed at Bogey and Bergman she was shocked when she looked over at the three on the couch.

Lorelai was cuddled into Luke which she presumed would happened but most surprisingly she noticed how comfortably Rory was leaning her head on Luke's shoulder and dozing off. She looked at her husband who had fallen asleep and she couldn't help but smile. She had to admit that it had been a nice evening. Lorelai and Rory had let them into what was obviously a family tradition for them and it felt nice, it wasn't what she would do on a regular basis but still it was nice.

* * *

The next morning Emily and Richard took a leisurely stroll along the beach to start their day, which Lorelai was thankful at the timing considering the tiny human inside her didn't appreciate the combination of the popcorn and red vines from the previous night and decided to bring them back up. Rory got up eager for the day seeing as Tristan was coming in and she found Luke in the kitchen.

"Oh hey Luke!" she greeted him.

"Morning Rory!" Luke said turning round. "I thought I'd make breakfast for everyone…you know…to say thanks to your grandparents for inviting me."

"To make a good impression you mean..." Rory teased.

Luke chuckled. "That too. Plus your mom isn't going to shut up if she doesn't get her coffee."

Rory laughed. "True!"

"The question is… do I dare try make it half decaf?"

"Luke… do you like living the life you're living?"

"Uh… yeah?"

"Then don't push it." She recommended.

"Got it. So how come you're up this early?"

"Tristan texted and said he's nearly here so I'm just going to meet him." Rory smiled at the thought of seeing her boyfriend.

"Oh right! I'll see you later then, here take a Danish for the road."

"Thanks, see you Luke!" Rory said rushing out the door.

Minutes later Lorelai came into the kitchen and surprise Luke who was turned away from her by wrapping her arms around his waist and hid her face into his shirt.

"Morning… did you sleep well?" he asked.

"Mmm yeah, except the wakeup call courtesy of your kid, turns out junior didn't enjoy those red vines the second time round."

"Oh so it's my kid now?" he said turning around placing a peck on the lips.

"Mhhmmm, when it's mean to momma then it's your kid."

"Well serves you right for eating that crap last night"

"Yeah yeah, speaking of kids, was that my first born I heard leaving?"

"Yes it was, she was beckoned by a modern-day carrier pigeon from Tristan and went to meet him at the marina."

"Well I hope she took her dowry with her. So where are Margaret and Dennis?"

"I assume you mean your parents, by the way that's a better comparison than Eva and Adolf… They went for a walk and I am not sure when they will be back."

"So you're saying we have the place to ourselves." She said getting a mischievous look in her eye.

"Maybe… but I am cooking here." Lorelai didn't miss a beat, she took the pan off the heat and turned off the burner before enclosing Luke into a very heated make out session. He lifted her on to the counter, grazing kisses down her neck which she moaned in utter ecstasy. He managed to get closer by stepping between her legs that were now wrapped around his butt, lowering his hands he found she wasn't wearing any underwear underneath her silky slip and that sent him over the edge, he picked her up and lowered both of them on to the floor...

Once they were finished, Lorelai raced upstairs to change and Luke fixed his hair and baseball cap and caught his breath. They had impeccable timing because just as he was adjusting his cap how he liked it, Emily and Richard walked through the patio door, returning from their walk.

"Good morning Richard and Mrs Gilmore, did you enjoy your walk?"

"It was very nice thank you, you should go for one yourself with weather like this." Richard suggested. "What's all this?"

"I might just do that, this is some breakfast I thought you'd enjoy as a thank you for inviting me."

"Thank you Luke, that was very thoughtful of you" Emily said, but she was giving him a look.

 _Oh please don't tell me that she can tell I just had sex with her daughter on her kitchen floor._ He internally panicked.

Thankfully Lorelai entered the room, greeting her parents and Luke, acting and if she hadn't seen him this morning. She took the lead grabbing a plate of food and sent a pointed look to her parents to follow. Emily was surprised at how good the food was, the Danishes reminded her of Paris and the Coffee of Rome. _How could a blue collar man make such delectable food? Maybe there is more to the diner man than meets the eye._ She thought.

* * *

Leaving the summer house swiftly, Rory walked down to the marina and smiled when she saw her boyfriend. "Well isn't this a nice surprise!" She joked.

"Yeah we saw this particular island and just had to stop and see it." He played along. "We thought there may be some hot girls we could hook up with." He said with a cheeky grin.

"Well you're right there!" She joked giving him a steamy kiss, they were interrupted when a chorus of wolf whistles and applause erupted the moment.

Tristan sighed but smirked at his friend's antics, formal introductions were now needed. "Rory, this is Logan, Colin and Finn and you know Zeek and Brady from school."

"Wow Gilmore, looks like you aren't such a Mary after all, amazing what a plaid skirt can do" Brady said.

"Shut up idiot!" Tristen growled at his buddy. No one was allowed to call Rory that except for him, and maybe not even that.

"Hey! Nice to meet you." Logan said shaking her hand.

"Nice to meet you too! Nice yacht!" Rory complimented. "Is it yours?"

Everyone laughed. Rory looked confused, wondering what she had missed.

"Logan's not allowed to take anyone's yacht out." Tristan explained, smirking. "It's Finn's father's boat."

"How come?"

"I may have sunk my dad's yacht on my last holiday." Logan smirked, somewhat proudly.

"You sunk your dad's yacht?" Rory asked in disbelief, also seeing that he didn't seem to be remorseful or ashamed.

"Yeh but my sister helped bail me out so it's all good, I'm just not allowed to set foot on any of our family's boats unsupervised, rules of dear old pop." Logan joked.

 _What an entitled Jerk!_ Rory thought. "Ah ok… Anyway, we better get going but it was nice meeting you guys, maybe we will see you around if you're staying for a bit." She said politely.

She walked Tristan to her grandparents' villa. She felt Tristan take hold of her hand and she smiled. He wasn't afraid of showing public affection which she liked.

"By the way, that monster beach party I mentioned is tonight, which is why the boys are staying at Logan's place for a bit before taking off again. Fancy coming?" Tristan asked.

"Oh…um…" She said, thinking that a party those guys wanted to go to didn't seem like a great idea. However, she did want to spend time with Tristan, he had been there for her for so long she should do something he wanted. "Sure, I guess." She smiled.

"Great! I know you're not a huge party girl but you went to that party at Madison's place and if you can handle a Chilton party especially one organised by Chilton's own Lucy and Ethel, you can handle anything." He joked.

Rory laughed. "If you say so!"

They arrived at the villa and went in to find everyone was up now and sitting in the kitchen-dining area, eating the food Luke had prepared. Rory was surprised to even see her Grandma eating the food and actually looking like she enjoyed it. _Maybe she was coming round to Luke?_ She pondered.

"Hey!" She smiled at everyone. "Look what the tide washed up!" She grinned announcing Tristan's arrival.

"Thanks! Make me feel special, why don't you?" Tristan joked.

"Tristan! How lovely that you could join us! Come grab a plate, it rather delicious food." Emily gushed, greeting him warmly.

"Thank you for inviting me." He said politely. He then shook Richard's hand.

"How's your grandfather?" Richard asked.

"Very well sir, I plan to see him just before school starts again."

Lorelai then got up and gave him a hug. "Good to see you again, Tristan." She smiled genuinely.

"You too, Lorelai. It's good to see you better." He said sincerely.

"Thank you. It's great feeling back to normal." Lorelai smiled.

"Yeah not great for everyone." Luke grumbled, but meant it as a joke.

"Hush you! You know you love me really!" Lorelai grinned.

"Oh yeah, your constant demands for food and coffee really make me happy!" He said sarcastically. "Sometimes I think you only go out with me for that." He smirked.

"Well it is a great advantage." She grinned.

"It's like living with a puppy."

"Well in that case you should rub my belly and tell me I'm a good girl" she said with a glint in her eye and a tone full of euphemism.

Luke rolled his eyes and then shook Tristan's hand. "It's good that you could come." He said.

"Me too." Tristan chuckled, amused by their banter.

"So Lorelai, the spa?" Emily said. Before Rory entered, Emily was coaxing Lorelai into joining her for a spa day, just the two of them.

"Rory darling, tell your grandma I don't like spas…" Lorelai pleaded.

"You do like spas though." Rory said confused.

"Yes but I want to relax today. Luke and I have… plans…" Lorelai said desperate to get out of spending a day with her mom.

"Actually I was thinking of maybe going fishing." Luke said.

"See! Now you have no more excuses." Emily said triumphantly.

"Thank you so much for your help!" She groaned at Luke and Rory. They grinned at each other.

"Luke, if you don't mind, I might join you, the ladies can have their day and so can we, it will give us a chance to know each other a bit better." Richard said shocking everyone.

This time, it was Lorelai's turn to grin. "Well I think that's a great idea dad!" She said.

Rory giggled while Luke glared at her. "Well Tristan and I are going to take a walk on the beach and catch up on everything but then there's this party later we're gonna check out."

"Sounds fun, hon." Lorelai smiled at her.

"Looks like we all have our plans, now Lorelai go get ready we are leaving in twenty minutes" Emily said, to which Lorelai replied her traditional 'something-to-do-with-Emily' groan.

* * *

 **Sooo YAAAAAY we got over the 100th Review mark thanks to DSLeo.**

 **If you want to have chapter 19 in a timely manner then please please please review, trust me you want to read that one guys. XX**


	19. Chapter 19

Is this timely enough for you? Maybe I hyped it up a little more than I should so go in with low expectations.

* * *

 **Previously…**

" **Luke, if you don't mind, I might join you, the ladies can have their day and so can we, it will give us a chance to know each other a bit better." Richard said shocking everyone.**

 **This time, it was Lorelai's turn to grin. "Well I think that's a great idea dad!" She said.**

 **Rory giggled while Luke glared at her. "Well Tristan and I are going to take a walk on the beach and catch up on everything but then there's this party later we're gonna check out."**

" **Sounds fun, hon." Lorelai smiled at her.**

" **Looks like we all have our plans, now Lorelai go get ready we are leaving in twenty minutes" Emily said, to which Lorelai replied her traditional 'something-to-do-with-Emily' groan.**

* * *

Soon everyone had gone their separate ways for the rest of the day.

Tristan and Rory were walking on the beach hand in hand.

"So how long have you known Logan and the others? They seem a bit different to you." Rory questioned.

"Since we were kids, our parents are in the same social circle, my dad is the lawyer for their dads. They're good guys really." Tristan said. He saw Rory's look. "Look I know they come across as jackasses and that Logan sounds like someone who doesn't care about a thing but he really is a good guy. He's helped me out with lots of things, he took the blame for a school prank in junior high knowing I would be sent off to boarding school if my parents ever found out it was me, he even gave me a place to stay when I have massive problems with my parents. And he's really close to his sister, they are the only two people to know what it's like living under their parent's roof so they stick together. That's why she helped him out with the yacht. You'd actually like her, she doesn't act like one those snobs you know?" He said.

"Well OK. I guess I just need to get to know them better, I mean I thought the same thing about you when I first met you - ." She said.

Tristan cut her off feigning an insulted gasp "you thought I was a jackass when you first met me? Why Rory Gilmore I am crushed."

"But… There is a 'but' if you would like to pick your ego up off the sand; now that I have gotten to know you, I know that all that is your macho high school pretty boy act and this here, the hand-holding-sweet-caring-funny guy standing in front of me is the real you."

Tristan was stunned by his girlfriend's words, he stood close in front of her and tipped her chin up so that his lips easily met hers, it was a different kiss than Rory had experienced, it was like Logan was telling her something but she didn't know what and he even didn't know what. It was simply a kiss that said 'love'.

They broke a part and Tristan snapped back into funny guy mode. "But is the real me still pretty?" he smirked.

Rory playfully smacked him on the arm ignoring that question. "So I guess I will get to know your friends a bit better on this trip?"

"Well you might see a different side to them at the party tonight, especially Finn, it can get quite entertaining when he's around." Tristan smiled.

"Yeah I guess so. Have I told you I'm so happy you could hang out with me here?" Rory smiled.

"You may have mentioned that." Tristan smirked and gave her another kiss.

* * *

When Luke had decided to use some downtime on this trip to go fishing, he intended to go just off the rocks or off a jetty, but with Richard involved, Luke received a whole lot more than he bargained for. In fact Richard who had only been fishing a couple of times in his life decided to rent out a beautiful 50 feet luxury powerboat accompanied with its own captain and fishing expert, he also rented out top of the line fishing gear.

Luke being the simple man he is, didn't know what to make of this, he was content sitting in a deck chair on a rustic jetty somewhere with the quiet sounds of nature and a beer in hand, but when he saw the fishing poles Richard had got, even he was secretly keen to test them out.

They set sailed around midday, and anchored not far off the coast from the island, the expert said it was a good spot for reeling in sea bass, bluefish and sometimes mackerel. While Luke was able to set up his gear on his own he let the expert help Richard who was having a hard time negotiating with the bait. But before long, lines were cast and cold beers were open; even for Richard.

The men sat in a relaxed silence, only speaking here and there about various things, until finally, Richard broke the muteness due to his curiosity of wanting to know more about Luke. "So, Luke, did you go fishing when you were younger?" He asked.

"Oh yeah. I went a lot of the time with my dad." Luke said thinking back to that time. "It was nice. It would just be him and me and we'd go to his cabin over near Winchester for a few days before my mom and sister joined us, I'm pretty sure I had my first beer at that cabin."

Richard looked at him and could see the sadness in his eyes. "Were you and your father close?"

"Yeah, especially after mom died." Luke said sadly.

"I'm sorry. Losing parents that young must have been hard." He said.

Luke nodded. "Thanks."

"I lost my dad around the same age as you are now. I know what it's like to lose someone you looked up to." Richard admitted.

Luke looked at Richard, surprised he was sharing so much. "I'm sorry."

"Yes me too, but he was a hard man, he would have never done this sort of thing with his son, though I never expected him too, he was raised a certain way and I guess that carried on with me, not that I have a son to do this with, it just wasn't in the cards for Emily and I" He looked sad as if he was remembering another time, but perked up again quickly "I don't think Lorelai would be too keen on this either." He said with a chuckle.

Luke smirked at the thought of Lorelai fishing "Knowing her she would buy every piece of fishing outfit and accessories she could find, looking ridiculous and then she would try and name all the fish."

Richard gave out a hearty belly laugh imagining the picture Luke just painted. "So you and Lorelai... you're going well?"

Luke nodded. "I love her, sir." He said sincerely.

Richard smiled to himself. "I can see that, not to pry but what does that mean for the future?"

"I'm not sure what you're asking Richard."

"Let's put it this way, will there be a time where we would be doing this again, maybe with a next generation of Gilmore/Danes men?"

Luke had an inner panic attack thinking had he not been careful about hiding the fact Lorelai was pregnant, _but Richard would have said something right? Or Emily most definitely would have_. "Maybe…" he said "One day… I hope at least, I mean I am not proposing tomorrow or anything, we haven't been together that long."

"But you two are already living together." Richard stated.

"Yeah I know that part seems fast but under those circumstances it was the best thing to do at the time… and when the time came for me to go back to my apartment, the girls said they were used to having me around and didn't want me to go and truthfully I didn't want to go either, I had forgotten what it was like to be around people who you love, like a family really… which is what I've found with your daughter sir."

"I see" all Richard said, but his head was racing.

"But if and when the time comes for thinking about marriage, I can try promise you that I'll ask for your permission sir."

"Alright, that sounds good." He said with an affirmative nod, the conversation ended because Richard felt a sudden tug on his line, Luke and the expert encouraged and coached him to real in a whopper of a sea bass that Richard was chuffed with.

Around mid-evening when the summer sun was setting, they had had enough of their fishing excursion and the men returned to land and thanked the captain and fishing expert for their services. Luke and Richard had gone to a restaurant bar before joining back up with their ladies. Now the sun was set and they actually had a nice afternoon after all , they had gotten to know a lot more about each other, and were happy with their catches, even though had to release a lot of them.

"Well, son, I believe we have been very successful today." Richard said.

Luke was surprised by him saying son but nodded. "Yeah I'd say we have."

"I'm glad we could talk. Have some man time, get away from those Gilmore women as we both know they can be a handful at times."

Luke chuckled. "Yeah it was good day, thank you Richard."

"I'd say that calls for another round of drinks and maybe a bite to eat, on me of course, won't be a moment." He said getting up from his table and going to the bar counter.

Suddenly a couple of younger guys walked in and sat at the table behind Luke. He could hear their entire conversation.

"Yeah so we were at the party but I heard all these rumors going around about stuff"

"Like what?"

"Some guys thought it would be fun to roofie some girl's drinks and others were gonna do lines or something, you know stuff like that and I like to party like the best of them but that shit just isn't right. But then those Scott brothers showed up, and every time they crash a party, a fight is bound to break out and the cops show up and my dad says if I get into trouble one more time he's going to sell my jag and send me to military school so I bailed." One guy said.

"Man I hate those guys, every summer that happens."

"Yeah and I think I left at the right time too, I saw the younger of the brothers throwing back beer after beer till he was wasted and it sounded like shit was about to go off."

"What happened?"

"No idea mate, I think he was trying to get into this girl who just kept rejecting but then her boyfriend showed up and sounded like it became vicious. We thought it would be best to leave."

Luke immediately thought about Rory just as Richard was returning to the table. "We have to go, Richard." He said.

"What? What's the matter Luke?"

"I think Rory's in trouble. Come on we have to go. Call and try to find Emily and Lorelai." He said and rushed out, Richard quickly cancelled his order and threw down some money to cover their tab.

* * *

Meanwhile, Emily and Lorelai were at the spa. They were having massages side by side whilst the effects of their facials set in. It was the last lot of their treatments and Lorelai was relaxing with her eyes closed, in total bliss and it turns out one of the massage therapists knew how to help her leg, the bones were healed but it still wasn't 100%.

Emily on the other hand couldn't stop thinking about things, well just one thing; her daughter's relationship with the diner man.

"Lorelai?" she said to get her attention.

"Hmmm?" her daughter replied, she was too relaxed to use words.

"Do you love Luke?" Emily suddenly asked.

Lorelai was surprised by the sudden interrogation, her eyes popped open and she huffed, she really didn't want to get into this right now, not when she was actually having a good time being around her mother. "Mom…" she groaned

"I'm just asking, I mean you've already let the man move in with you."

"Yes, OK? Yes I love Luke."

"I mean do you see yourself have a future with him, being married to him and maybe… having more kids?" She asked.

Lorelai subtly glanced down at her stomach and then smiled. "Yeah I can."

Emily looked over at her thinking that her preconceived notions about what she wanted for Lorelai's future were slipping away. "And he treats you well?"

"Yeah he's a great guy, I just can't explain it, but he is just the best thing for me, he loves Rory which is rare to find in a guy, you know to love someone else's daughter and to know we are a package deal. I know he is everything not what you pictured for me, I know he doesn't wear a suit to work or drive a fancy car, I know he isn't… Christopher, but he is an adult, he's caring and kind, protective, a great cook, he will go above and beyond the call of duty and honestly… I can't see my life with anyone else."

Emily just nodded.

Soon after they were both getting dressed and ready to see their better halves after such a long day.

* * *

Over at to the beach party, there was music, booze and dancing. Rory and Tristan had just left the center of the people dancing to catch their breaths, she had to admit even though she isn't a party girl she was having a nice time with Tristan and his friends. The guys were shielding the girls from other guys lurking on them and wanting to offer them already opened drinks, even those party boys of Connecticut had heard about the rumors and didn't like the idea of it. Rory even found Finn's drunken shenanigan's amusing especially when he started quoting Shakespeare's Twelfth Night to show off to some girls, he was quite good actually, and Logan wasn't as much of a douche as she originally thought."

Tristan sat Rory down on a log since her feet were starting to hurt and he went to get them some drinks, that's when a couple of guys walked up to Rory.

"Hey sweetheart, want a dance?" One asked cockily.

"Um no thanks." She said.

"Aw come on, pretty girl like you. I'll be the hero of the party getting someone like you."

"And with flattery with that, how could I resist?" Rory said sarcastically. "I have a boyfriend so back off." She said walking away from the party back towards the Gilmore Villa.

She sent a text to Tristan and thought she was free from those guys, until one of them grabbed her from behind when she was about 50 meters away from the log, he was accompanied by his buddy standing behind him.

"And where do you think you're going? Huh? I can't just let a pretty girl like you slip away like that"

"Get off me!" She yelled trying to fight him off, she was getting worried now.

"Hey!" Tristan shouted running towards them. "Get off her! Don't you dare touch her you piece of shit!" He said pushing him away from her.

The guy was now angry and turned towards him. "What did you just call me?!" it was clear he was drunk.

"Tristan…" Rory said quietly sensing something was about to go wrong. "Come on let's go...we need to get out of here…"

"I called you a piece of shit" Tristan said angrily.

Suddenly the guy punched Tristan in the stomach and he collapsed on the floor, he tried to get up again but the guy kicked him while he was down.

"TRISTAN!" Rory shouted, trying to run towards him but the other guy held her back by her arm and hair.

"You can see your precious boyfriend get a beating now." He growled in her ear.

Suddenly, she felt the guy being pulled off her and saw him on his knees with a bleeding nose, she turned around and to her surprise, saw Logan.

"Are you OK?" He asked, with unusual concern.

"Um yeah I think so, but we have to help Tristan!" She said shaken, going to run towards the fight.

"No! You go get help. I'll help Tristan." He said. "Now go!"

Rory got away from the fight and rang her mom.

"Hey kid!" Her mom answered cheerfully as she was driving towards the restaurant she was meant to meeting her father and Luke at.

"Mom!" She said crying she could still see the fight from her safety point.

"Rory? Rory, what's wrong?" Lorelai asked suddenly worried. This caused Emily to look at her in concern, knowing from Lorelai's voice something was wrong with Rory.

"I…I don't know what to do. There were these guys and, uh… they grabbed me…and then Tristan came and stopped them and now he's in trouble mom! There's a fight! And I'm so scared Mom, please come help us." Rory cried.

"We're on our way. Call the police, Rory." Lorelai said and then hung up.

"What's going on?" Emily asked.

"I don't know. But there's some sort of fight at the party where Rory is and she was crying." Lorelai said breathlessly whilst making a U-turn, she was now panicking for her daughter's safety, especially when Rory mentioned being grabbed.

* * *

As Luke and Richard made their way to the beach, Luke got a phone call. He saw who it was and knew what it was about.

"I'm on my way there." He said to Lorelai without saying hello.

"What…how did you…?" Lorelai said.

"Heard some rumors in the bar from guys who had just left the party, even if they weren't about Rory, I don't want her there, I am too worried for her being there. So I'm going to get her right now."

"Luke, I heard from Rory. She was crying…she's super scared, I'm scared too!" Lorelai said getting in a state.

"Calm down, don't worry, she'll be fine." Luke comforted her. "We're almost there."

"OK so are we." Lorelai hung up and saw her mom looking at her. "What?"

"Luke's on his way?" Emily asked.

"Yeah apparently he heard some guys talking about rumor's happening at the party and he thought about Rory being there, he is worried about her and they're on their way now."

Emily was surprised but started to see that Luke may be alright after all.

* * *

Luke sped into the parking area by the beach where the party was, he jumped out and looked around before Richard could even comprehend what was going on. He stood on the sand bank that was a higher piece of ground and saw the fight 50 meters down the beach and then he saw Rory on the bank also, shouting at them to stop. "There!" he pointed out to Richard, who had just gotten to his side, and then Luke sped off running down the beach.

"Hey! Break it up! NOW! Break it up! The police are on their way!" He shouted running towards them. The two guys scampered and Logan was standing there panting and Luke saw Tristan on the ground having endured a beating. He ran towards him. "Hey Tristan Can you hear me?" He asked with caution.

"Yeah I can hear you" Tristan said clearly shaken and in pain.

"Can you get up?"

Tristan tried to raise himself off the ground, and he did with great pain but he couldn't stand on his own, and Richard came over to hold him steady while Luke checked his injuries"

Tristan managed to speak out to Logan, he heard what Luke had previously said and he needed to still have his buddy's back.

"Logan didn't you hear, the cops are coming, you need to get out of here, remember what your dad said?"

"But…" he tried protesting

"No dude I am fine, you gotta go now"

"Call me when this all dies down OK" he said and ran off towards his parent's villa.

When Luke was done doing the quick check over of Tristan, he then turned round to find Rory to check her over too. His eyes widened when he saw one of the guys trying to drag her away with his hand round her mouth.

"Rory!" Luke yelled suddenly he was extremely worried for what is basically his surrogate daughter. "Let her go RIGHT NOW! Didn't you hear what I said? The police will be here any moment!" He said running towards them.

Suddenly, the guy brought out a knife. "Stay away! And you get the police to go or I will hurt her!" He shouted angling the blade of the knife under Rory's chin into her neck.

Luke froze and he saw Rory's terrified face.

"RORY!" He suddenly heard a female shout down the beach.

He looked around and saw that Lorelai had arrived sprinting down the beach with Emily in tow, trying to keep up. Richard stopped his daughter and wife from going any further, whilst still holding Tristan upright, in order to let Luke handle it, but that didn't stop Lorelai bawling her eyes out in absolute fear.

He turned back round. "OK let's just all calm down." He said in a soothing tone.

"Luke… please" Rory begged fearfully.

"It's OK." He comforted her. He looked at the guy who couldn't have been that much older than Rory, maybe he was one of the brothers those guys were talking about. "You don't want to do this."

"Why not?" He shouted.

"Because you're young, you have so much ahead of you, you do this and that's your life gone. Now look at her! She's only 16, she's like a daughter to me and she's terrified!" Luke said. He saw the boy hesitate, it was a tiny semblance to him backing down so Luke tried another strategy. "Have you got a sister?" He asked.

"What?" The boy said confused.

"Have you got a sister?" He repeated slower and clearer.

"Um y…yeah…"

"Well how would you feel if she was in this position? Look at her. I know you don't want to do this." Luke said. Suddenly sirens were heard and he saw the boy's eyes widen. "Please. That girl means the world to me and to those people over there; her mom and grandparents and her boyfriend. Please. Let her go." He said.

The boy looked down and caught a glimpse of Rory's terrified face for the first time and finally found his conscience. "I'm so sorry." He said dropping the knife and running off, letting Rory go.

Rory ran to Luke and hugged him like never before, tears were running down her face.

"Hey, it's OK. Shh…" He comforted her rubbing her back and placing a kiss on the top of her head.

"I was so scared…" She said muffled into Luke's chest.

"That makes two of us." He said.

Rory looked up at him and gave him a small smile. "Thank you so much Luke."

"Don't thank me, I shouldn't have taken my eyes off of you for a second, now let me look at you" he quickly examined Rory like he had with Tristan, she had marks and the first signs of bruises appearing on her arms and neck and a small cut from the knife being held under her chin. But she was OK, Luke's little girl was OK.

Emily and Richard had been watching the entire scene in shock. They had seen a whole new side to Luke, this was protective Luke that Rory had mention only amped up times a hundred.

"Rory!" Lorelai said running towards them and engulfed her daughter in a hug, she was still hysterically crying.

Rory hugged her back.

"I'm OK Mommy, its OK" she said to calm her mother. She then saw Tristan limping over still holding onto Richards arm. She ran to him. "I'm so sorry, Tristan! I couldn't stop them! This is my fault I shouldn't have left the party" She cried.

"No it's my fault I shouldn't have gone to get the drinks, I'm just glad you're OK." He said.

"But look at you…"

"I'm fine. It was just a beating. I'll be fine." He said.

Suddenly, they heard a scream of agony and turned round to see Lorelai keeling over clutching her stomach.

"MOM!" Rory shouted running towards them, Tristan struggling to follow behind her and stay upright.

"Lorelai! What's wrong? Is it the baby?" Luke asked panicked.

"Baby? What baby?" Emily asked not missing a beat.

Lorelai looked down and saw a massive amount of blood seeping from her pants. "No no no!" She cried. She looked at Luke. "Luke…I can't…" She cried gripping onto his hand but was cut off as another excruciating stabbing of pain surged through her abdomen, the pain was too much and combined with how much she was bleeding, the color in her face drained away, her eyes dimmed, and she then passed out there on the sand.

"Richard! Call an ambulance!" Luke ordered, and Richard did as he was told, calling for two, one for Tristan and one for his daughter.

"Luke!" Emily yelled to get his attention, but he was too focused on trying to get Lorelai conscious again. "What baby!?" she yelled again.

Rory looked up at her grandmother with tears of worry pooling in her eyes.

"Mom's pregnant…" she said to Emily.

* * *

 **Sooooo I am insanely anticipating your reviews, tell me if it was shit or not... scream if you want.**

 **P.S it was my idea, don't hurt Eliza, XOXO.**

 **...and it's now 5am goodnight!**


	20. Chapter 20

Sorry Sorry Sorry, I've been quite sick and work has been an asshole so was too drained to write, but here is my second milestone.

* * *

 **Previously…**

 **Lorelai looked down and saw a massive amount of blood seeping from her pants. "No no no!" She cried. She looked at Luke. "Luke…I can't…" She cried gripping onto his hand but was cut off as another excruciating stabbing of pain surged through her abdomen, the pain was too much and combined with how much she was bleeding, the colour in her face drained away, her eyes dimmed, and she then passed out there on the sand.**

" **Richard! Call an ambulance!" Luke ordered, and Richard did as he was told, calling for two, one for Tristan and one for his daughter.**

" **Luke!" Emily yelled to get his attention, but he was too focussed on trying to get Lorelai conscious again. "What baby!?" she yelled again.**

 **Rory looked up at her grandmother with tears of worry pooling in her eyes.**

" **Mom's pregnant…" she said to Emily.**

"Sweetheart! Lorelai! Please wake up? Luke said worriedly, he was shaking her try to get her conscious again just as the ambulances arrived.

He looked around to see Rory looking really upset and worried. "Rory, you go with Tristan, get that cut looked at and anything else that those jackasses did to you… don't worry I'll stay with your mom." He instructed.

"Um…OK…" Rory said still in shock.

Emily and Richard were just standing in shock by what had happened and also blindsided by the revelation that their only daughter was pregnant and didn't tell them. The pair were smashed into a wall of emotions not knowing which one to focus on first, but something happened tonight that would linger with them for a while, which is how impressed they were with Luke handling everything.

The paramedics were now down on the sand with two stretchers, the Gilmore's snapped into action helping their family. Richard who was still supporting Tristan helped him hobble on to one of the stretchers where Emily seemed to snap Rory out of her shock.

"Come on Rory dear, Luke is right" _Did I just say that?_ She thought to herself, "You need to go in the ambulance, you've been attacked and need to be looked over."

"Uh… OK…" Rory timidly said finally taking her eyes off her mother.

Luke easily lifted Lorelai up onto her stretcher and followed the paramedics towards the ambulance. He quickly looked back at Richard and Emily and Richard knew what he was about to say.

"We will meet you there." Richard said.

Luke nodded and the ambulances drove off.

Luke held Lorelai's hand the whole journey, he informed the paramedics everything he could from the fact she's supposed to be 8 weeks pregnant to all the relevant details he knew about the accident months ago and her recovery from that.

Lorelai briefly gained consciousness. She managed to mumble "Luke….I've lost it, I know I have…" before fainting again.

"We don't know yet. Let's just wait until we get there." Luke said trying to be hopeful and positive but knowing on the inside she was probably right. He had heard the paramedics come to the conclusion of hemorrhaging in the uterus causing low blood pressure combined with some of the aftermath left from the accident, all causing her to blackout. The medics inserted an IV drip because of the amount of fluid she had lost and propped her feet up in order to attempt to get her heart rate calm and steady.

Luke had not been with Lorelai the last time she was rushed off in an ambulance, the circumstances were completely different but his emotions were running fretfully just the same. He now added ambulance to his list of medical-hates.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the other ambulance, Rory wasn't saying anything, she was staring vaguely ahead at nothing. Tristan was watching her while the paramedics were seeing to a cut on his face. "Rory? Are you OK?"

"It's all my fault…" Rory said, letting a tear slide down her cheek.

"What? No, Rory…"

"- All of this. You, mom, it's all my fault!"

"I'm sorry but how is this all your fault?" Tristan asked surprised.

"I shouldn't have walked away from the party, I should have stayed close to Luke when those guys ran off and then I wouldn't have called mom and then she wouldn't have got stressed or scared and this never would have happened we would all be enjoying our vacation instead of being on the way to the emergency room." She said tearfully.

He tried reaching out for her hand but the paramedic held him to stay lying down.

"Sir you need to stay still" He said, Tristan could only oblige.

"Rory, none of this is your fault. Your mom may have gone through this without having the stress of everything that happened, anything could have caused your mom to collapse. And as for me, it was my fault. I shouldn't have left you alone even for a second, I shouldn't have even dragged you to that party and sure as hell shouldn't have provoked those assholes." He said.

"You were just trying to protect me…" she whispered to herself.

They arrived to the hospital and Tristan and Rory were swiftly sent to a bed each in a curtained walled room, they weren't in dire need of attention so they just now had to wait, unlike Lorelai who was wheeled immediately into a triage room and Luke had the door shut in his face, he could only look through the window into the room. It was then Richard and Emily charged in looking for their family, they were directed to see to Rory and Tristan as they were underage and needed a guardian however Richard stopped as he saw a petrified Luke staring through the window.

"Emily dear, you go ahead to the kids, I'll just…" he trailed off indicating towards Luke. She saw Luke's face and understood at what her husband meant.

Richard walked over to Luke placing one hand on his back. "Come on Luke, there's no use just standing here, let's go take a seat."

Luke didn't say anything but he didn't refuse when Richard gently directed him to some seats down the way.

When Emily found Rory, she saw her granddaughter being seen to by a nurse, Rory had no broken bones and wasn't in any physical pain, she didn't need stitches for the cut on her neck only a small bandage. What both Emily and the Nurse noticed was Rory's frozen disposition and terror all over her face. The nurse laid Rory down, propping her feet up on some towels to aid the shock she was going through. She kept repeating something over and over in a quiet manic voice but only she knew what she was saying.

The nurse finally noticed Emily standing there. "Oh sorry I didn't see you there, are you her guardian?"

"Oh yes, I'm her grandmother, I was told I needed to be here, is everything alright?"

"Yes she will be fine, no broken bones and no stitches needed but she is in a state of shock so it will be best to have her lay there for a bit."

"Oh alright, and what about the boy? What about Tristan?"

"Are you his guardian too?"

"I suppose so, he is under our care until he gets back to the mainland."

"OK Tristan sustained some injuries from the fight, it seems that he has fractured some ribs and dislocated his jaw among some cuts and bruising, right now he is in imaging to see the extent of damage to his ribs, hopefully they haven't splintered or caused any harm to the lungs, if that is the case he should make a full recovery."

"Oh well thank you."

"No problem, if there is anything else you need let me know."

"Actually there is, could… could you hopefully tell me something about my daughter?" she asked worriedly.

"You daughter?" the nurse was confused.

"Yes Lorelai Gilmore, she was brought in at the same time but in a different ambulance."

The nurse gave Emily a sympathetic look "I'm sorry ma'am I haven't been assigned to her case, but I did hear word she might be admitted overnight, that is all I can tell you"

"Thank you anyway." And the nurse walked off to see to other patient's, Emily was being uncharacteristically calm and polite on the outside, but on the inside, like everyone else, she was overwhelmed with worry and fear.

* * *

Sometime later, the triage team had done their best on Lorelai, they managed to stop the bleeding and she was given a blood transfusion to bring up her blood pressure. She was now admitted as a patient and awake in a private room where she will spend the night for monitoring. The resident obstetrician had to perform some scans and other tests once the triage team had cleared out to see the status of the fetus.

Tristan had returned to his hospital bed after getting multiple x-rays and scans. "Well Tristan it looks like you were very lucky, your ribs are broken but if you remain isolated enough they should stay away from your lungs. You will be in pain for a bit but they should heal over time, also in a few days you will need to do some deep breathing exercise's a few times a day so your lungs can help put the bones grow together back in the right shape again to prevent any breathing issues in the future."

"OK sounds doable. Thanks." Tristan smiled at the nurse, looking over at Rory who gave him a small smile as well but it didn't meet her eyes.

"I'm just going to… go to the bathroom." Rory said excusing herself.

While she was in there, Luke came in to check on Tristan. "Hey. Are you OK?" He said obviously down.

Grateful for his concern Tristan smiled sadly at Luke, neither of his parents would care how he would be doing they would just care about what had happened and how much hush money it would cost to make it go away.

"Hey, yeah nothing time can't heal. How's Lorelai?" Tristan asked.

Luke sighed. "Uh not sure yet, I mean she's awake and they have moved her upstairs but she's having tests and scans done right now… but I mean we all know what happened, I want to be positive for her and for me but I just know she's lost the baby." He said.

"Oh man, I'm so sorry. How's she doing? How are you?" Tristan asked.

"Lorelai's not doing so good. I'm OK, I think… I don't really know… I've got to stay strong for her but she's hasn't said anything so far." Luke said obviously devastated by the news. He then looked round the room. "Where's Rory?"

Tristan sighed. "She went to the bathroom, which was a while ago. She's blaming herself for everything."

"What?" Luke said shocked.

"She has the same thought as you… about the baby. She thinks it's her fault that if Lorelai had a miscarriage. She thinks it was because of the stress of what happened on the beach." He said.

"It's not her fault at all! Why would she think that?" Luke said, concerned that she thought it was.

"That's what I told her but I don't think she believed me, for a while she kept muttering the same things over and over again to herself like 'It's all my fault, you were just protecting me, it's all my fault, you were just protecting me' I mean she's calmed down now but still..."

Luke nodded and left a few minutes later to return to Lorelai.

He went back to Lorelai's room. He sat down next to her, she dared not to look at him, but he grabbed her hand and held it anyway.

"Hey babe, I know you don't want to talk right now and that's fine but we might have a problem." Luke sighed.

Lorelai finally broke out of her dazed facade and looked at him, not saying anything but this indicated he should go on with what he has to say.

"It's Rory. Tristan says she's got it somehow in her head she's the cause of all this, she's blaming herself for everything."

"It's not her fault..." Lorelai said quietly, very reminiscent of how Rory was saying the exact same thing earlier.

"I know, and I think you should tell her that."

Just then they saw Rory stood at the door, she looked too scared to enter, to come near her mom. _I've done enough damage, mom looks so drained._

Lorelai gave her a small smile. "Hey hon, come here…" she beckoned by patting a space next to her on the bed.

Despite her apprehensiveness, after everything that happened that evening Rory still needed her mother, so she ran to her side and hugged her as best she could trying to limit the pain she thought her mom was in. "I'm so so sorry mom!" She cried into Lorelai's chest.

"Hon, this isn't your fault, OK? These things just happen sometimes." Lorelai said as brave as she could.

Rory pulled back. "But the stress…the situation…"

"Sweets don't think about that, I don't want you thinking about that, get it out of your head right now, besides nothing is confirmed just yet, but listen to me carefully, it isn't your fault! OK? It isn't your fault. So please babe, for me, stop blaming yourself!" Lorelai said.

Rory looked up at her mom through tear filled eyes and saw her mom meant her words, but she couldn't reply, she just nodded to let her Lorelai know she heard her. After a while Rory returned to Tristan to give Luke and Lorelai some time together.

* * *

Sitting not so patiently in the hospital room waiting for the doctor to come back with the results of the scan. Lorelai had undertaken some tests. She was back to staring vacantly ahead on the bed but Luke was right next to her holding her hand with his thumb caressingly drawing circles in a comforting way.

When the doctor came in there was a somber expression written all over her face. The duo knew then what she was about to say.

"Ms Gilmore, Mr Danes, I am really sorry to tell you that you have lost your baby." she said.

Lorelai shut her eyes to keep the tears in and she felt Luke squeeze her hand. They were expecting that but it didn't make the sting hurt any less. They both loved that baby even if it was the size of a peanut, they were both excited for it; they had got the chance to hear its heartbeat, to carry around a copy of the sonogram in their wallets, to imagine how the nursery would turn out… to basically picture a future with it… But now that was all gone.

Lorelai looked at Luke. "I'm sorry..." She said tearfully.

"Hey, don't apologize, it's not your fault." Luke comforted her and reached over to bring her into a hug. "It's not your fault." He repeated softly

"I'm so sorry… but it is my fault! I drank coffee, I lifted heavy stuff, I ate my usual crappy food, I worked late, I didn't listen to you…" She cried.

"Hey shhh….none of that." Luke comforted her.

"I don't mean butt in here Ms Gilmore, but Mr Danes is right, it is not your fault, these things happen all the time, maybe coffee and bad diet could have been a factor but I'd say in your case it isn't. I looked over your records we had sent over from Connecticut, your body was in an extremely traumatic state after your accident, and whether you realize it or not it's still healing, plus along with the fact you haven't had a child in over 16 years, it is safe to say your body was just overwhelmed to take on a pregnancy just now so you could say it rejected the fetus."

"See hon, listen to the doctor, it is no one's fault" he tried soothing his love.

"I am really sorry. Ms Gilmore I know you want to be alone but this news isn't all I have to share, it looks as if you require a D and C." She said.

That caught Luke's attention "What's a D and C?"

"It stands for Dilation and Curettage, It's a medical procedure where we remove tissue from the uterus after a miscarriage, and it will help with the bleeding, right now it's only stopped temporarily." The doctor explained, Luke winced at the medical jargon but if it's what's needed to be done then it has to be done.

Lorelai understood and agreed to it. "OK so what happens now?"

"Well right now you need to rest, keep your levels elevated, because during the procedure you will be under general anesthesia and we will begin it in the morning. It won't take long but then you need to remain here for a few hours till the anesthesia wears off, but you should be able to leave around midday."

"Uh OK…" Lorelai nodded.

"I'll leave you to try and get some sleep and I'll see you in the morning for the procedure." She said and left the room.

As the doctor left, Lorelai saw her parents entering the room. While Richard went in and stood close to his daughters side for support. Emily stood her ground at the foot of the bed, her face had the famous stone-wall look that Emily had mastered when Lorelai was 10.

"Hi…" Lorelai said weakly.

"Were you ever going to tell us?" Emily asked forcefully.

"Mom, not now please…" Lorelai said.

"No, I demand to know! When were you going to tell us? When the baby was born?" Emily pressed on.

"Yeah well that's not going to happen now is it?! So it doesn't matter" Lorelai shouted throwing her hands over her face.

"You lost it?" Richard said quietly.

"Yeah." Lorelai said quietly.

Richard and Emily shared a look, though neither said anything.

"With all due respect, Mrs Gilmore, maybe you could leave the interrogation until another day. We were going to tell you. We were going to tell you at dinner tomorrow night before we left. We've all had a traumatic evening and I'm sorry you're upset you didn't even know about it but at the moment, I don't really care! Look at your daughter, she's exhausted and devastated... We both are, and she needs to rest for her procedure in the morning, so the last thing she doesn't needs right now is a lecture and disappointing looks from her mother." Luke said sternly.

"He's right, Emily." Richard said quietly. He took hold of Lorelai's hand. "I am really sorry, Lorelai."

Lorelai nodded blinking back tears. "Thanks dad."

He then gave a quick pat on the back to Luke and then gently urged Emily to leave the room with him, but she was frozen.

"Wait you said procedure… what procedure? Are you alright?" she asked with genuine concern.

"Yeah mom, it's nothing they just have to do a D and C… it's when –"

"I know what it is..." Emily said cutting off her daughter. "Well we will let you get some rest then, we will take the kids back to the villa but we will be back in the morning."

"Sounds good mom."

Emily looked back at her daughter and knew Luke was right. "I really am sorry Lorelai. I was just surprised, that's all. I'm sorry for your loss, both of you." She said.

Lorelai gave her a small smile and nodded and Luke nodded at her in acknowledgement.

* * *

The next morning Lorelai was prepped for her procedure, admittedly she was nervous, the last time she had to go under general anesthesia she didn't wake up for over a month, she knew it was different circumstances but still, she couldn't help worry.

The procedure only took around an hour but she had to stay for another 4 hours to let the anesthesia to wear off. Lorelai was discharged later that day and she and Luke found the Gilmore's, Rory, Tristan and another boy in the waiting room.

"Mom!" Rory said and gave her another hug as gentle as she could. "Mom, Luke, this is Logan. He's a friend of Tristan's. He really helped us out during the fight."

They nodded and greeted him politely as they could in their exhausted states.

"Hon, we're going to head back to the house. Do you want to come with us?" Lorelai asked.

Rory nodded and turned to Tristan. "Get rest, OK? We catch the ferry home tomorrow, what are you going to do, you're not going to carry on sailing are you?" She said.

"Nah, my parents have bought me a flight ticket home tomorrow, so Logan is gonna drop me off at the airport." Tristan said.

"OK thanks Logan… for everything" she said to the Huntzberger.

"Don't worry about it, maybe I'll see you around someday"

"Yeah maybe" She turned back to her boyfriend "Have a safe flight…I…I love you." She said. She wasn't scared to say it like she was with Dean, she meant it with Tristan.

Tristan was surprised. It was the first time they'd said it. "I love you too." He said in return. Truthfully he had loved her for quite some time now but he wanted to wait until she was ready to say it first.

Rory gave him a kiss. "I'll call you when we're home. Look after yourself."

"Will do." He nodded.

* * *

That night at the Gilmore's summer villa was a quiet one, Lorelai stayed in her room for most of the day only quietly stepping out to go down the beach by herself and watched the sunset as she pondered over her thoughts. Tristan was staying at Logan's place so Rory immersed herself into a book, Luke went for a run, then took a long shower and went to bed and Emily and Richard were busy doing whatever they do in the evenings before retiring to the master bedroom early.

The next morning the trio began their journey back to Stars Hollow. It was very quiet unlike their journey to the vineyard, there was no singing, no laughing, and no fighting over sugary treats, no annoying Luke either. Lorelai was staring out of the window, Luke was concentrating on his driving and Rory was reflecting on what had happened over the entire trip. It was safe to say that vacation was a memorable one… but for all the wrong reasons.

When they arrived back at the Crap Shack, Lorelai took herself straight to bed even if it was only the middle of the afternoon. She was feeling some discomfort from everything and needed to lie down, she had barely uttered a word since the night on the beach. Luke watched the woman he loved so broken, that the light had gone from her eyes, he didn't know what to do; he knew to give her space so he sat down on the sofa and put his head in his hands, breathing deeply through all of it.

"Luke…" Rory said quietly.

Luke turned around, she stood there awkwardly, she looked smaller than usual, and he knew she was upset by everything.

"It's OK to be upset, you know. It was your baby too." Rory said.

Luke gave her a small smile. "And it was your sibling."

Rory sighed and sat down next to him. "This sucks…."

"Yep..."

"I don't know what to do, what do we do?"

"I'm not sure kid, I guess we just have to move on."

"Yeah I guess… Well I'm going to my room to read a book or nap or something. Look after mom." She said quietly.

"Always." Luke said.

Rory gave him a hug and whispered in his ear, "Thanks for saving me daddy Luke." She thought after everything Luke had done for her including this weekend, he deserved that title. She went to walk to her room but first turned back and saw a how down Luke was, she hoped both him and her mom could get through this… together.

Luke went up to their bedroom and found Lorelai already in bed, she was facing the other way so he couldn't see her face, but he saw her body shaking from crying. He quickly got changed and got in next to her. "Lorelai?" he said placing a loving hand around her waist.

Lorelai turned around and looked at Luke. He instantly wrapped her up in both arms as she laid there sobbing, while Luke held her whilst trying to but not quite able to hold back his own tears.

Meanwhile, downstairs, Rory was on her bed shaking. The shock had worn off from the attack but now she was sad for her mom and for Luke, even she was excited for the idea of being a big sister. She curled up under her duvet and cried herself to sleep.

* * *

 **Now you know why it took forever to write, it was harder, and even harder with bronchitis. So I really need reviews on this one, was is boring? Depressing? Lame? Please let me know XX**


	21. Chapter 21

Thank you for all your reviews and refraining from death threats :)

* * *

 **Previously…**

 **Luke went up to their bedroom and found Lorelai already in bed, she was facing the other way so he couldn't see her face, but he saw her body shaking from crying. He quickly got changed and got in next to her. "Lorelai?" he said placing a loving hand around her waist.**

 **Lorelai turned around and looked at Luke. He instantly wrapped her up in both arms as she laid there sobbing, while Luke held her whilst trying to but not quite able to hold back his own tears.**

 **Meanwhile, downstairs, Rory was on her bed shaking. The shock had worn off from the attack but now she was sad for her mom and for Luke, even she was excited for the idea of being a big sister. She curled up under her duvet and cried herself to sleep.**

Over the week, Lorelai's mood wasn't improving whatsoever. She was seeking refuge in the comfort of her own home, so she hadn't been out of the house all week and she uncharacteristically didn't want to eat either. She was in a pool of morose and which began to scare Rory and Luke. Rory knew better than to try break Lorelai out of it, she knew she would come around eventually… well hopefully.

But Luke didn't, Luke was too stubborn to let her be this way, he thought if she was like this for long she would remain this way and the problems would escalate. He made sure she was eating, he made sure she showered or brushed her teeth, he looked after Rory when she needed a parent, but the more he did these things the more Lorelai would fight him on it, so they were having a lot of arguments and it was getting both of them and Rory down, more than they already were.

"Lorelai, I'm making lunch! What would you like?" He called up. He sighed when he didn't get a reply so he went upstairs, she was still in bed curled up on her side. "Lorelai –" He started.

"I heard you. I'm not hungry." She said cutting him off.

Luke sighed. "Lorelai, we've talked about this, you need to eat. This isn't good for you." He said trying to stay calm.

"I said I'm not hungry Luke!" She snapped.

"Look, I will even make something unhealthy for you! Or go to the store and get something, returning with a side of coffee in a vat" He said desperately.

"No! Just leave me alone!" She snapped.

"Fine!" Luke said frustrated and went back downstairs.

Luke was in the kitchen making Rory and himself lunch, also saving some for Lorelai if she does change her mind. _Just because she won't eat doesn't mean Rory and I won't._ He was angry and sad at the same time with the way Lorelai had been treating him, his thoughts were interrupted when the doorbell rang. He went to open it and was shocked to find no one other than Emily Gilmore standing there. He was surprised because he thought they were staying at the vineyard for another week and they hadn't heard from Lorelai's parents since the hospital visit.

"Oh hi Mrs Gilmore."

"Hello Luke, may I come in?"

"With all due respect, this really isn't a great time…" Luke said, brushing his hand through his hair. He knew Lorelai wouldn't be up for a sparring match with her mother in the way she is now.

"I don't want to fight." She said. "I promise. I just want to see Lorelai. I want her to know how sorry I am for her, for both of you." She said sincerely.

Luke nodded. "OK, thanks. Uh she's upstairs, so you can go on up."

Emily nodded and headed up to the master bedroom and found her daughter looking smaller, frailer, certainly not the colourful Lorelai she had grown accustomed to. "Lorelai…" She said softly.

Lorelai slowly sat up and turned around. "Mom?" She said surprised. "What are you doing here, aren't you still supposed to be on vacation?"

"We decided to come back early and I needed to talk to you. I am not here to fight, I already told Luke that, I just want to talk… May I sit?"

"Uh sure" Lorelai said, propping herself up properly against the pillows, moving her legs for Emily to sit.

"Lorelai, I really am sorry, for how I acted at the hospital." Emily said sitting next to her. "I was in some state of shock that night I overreacted and I'm sorry about that."

Lorelai gave her a small smile. "Thanks mom." She said quietly. "I guess I am sorry I didn't tell you sooner, I honestly was going to tell you and dad. I was… scared, I guess… and nervous about it because I was having… you know… flashbacks from 17 years ago but Luke wanted us to tell you the next day at dinner and I agreed, he convinced me that he wished he could tell his parents and they would be over the moon about it and that I am lucky I could still tell you these kind of things even if you wouldn't be happy about them… not that that matters now. I promise I was going to tell you."

Emily gave her a small smile. "I believe you, I really do but that's not important now. Lorelai, you need to look after yourself and I can see you haven't been, though I am sure Luke has been trying." Lorelai snorted at that understatement.

"I know, from personal experience, that all you feel like doing after a tragedy like this is to just curl up on bed all day, talk to no one, eat nothing, not shower because no one else knows what you are going through, but that isn't true. You've got a good man down there and an amazing daughter who both love you and are worried about you." Lorelai said nothing, but she was subtly rolling her eyes which wasn't unnoticed by her mother.

"Look, I'm not saying that you need to forget about this because you never will, trust me I know… but you need to try and move on. I'm sure Luke is hurting as much as you and possibly Rory also." She said softly. Again Lorelai said nothing, "Well that's all I had to say, so I will leave you to it."

Before Emily could leave Lorelai spoke up. "Wait! You said from personal experience and in the hospital you said you knew what a D and C was… Explain, please. What do you mean mom?"

Emily sighed and sat back down. "I have had a miscarriage, actually miscarriages. I had three before you and another when you were 18 months old. When your father and I got married we wanted to start our dream family, but first we had struggling conceiving and then when I did find out I was pregnant we were over the moon… until the bleeding started, and then a year later the same thing happened again, and again after that. The third one was the scariest, it was like yours but worse, I lost a lot of blood and was hospitalized and that's when your father and I decided maybe it wasn't meant to be, so we stopped trying, we quietly went on with our lives, I thought I wouldn't be able to have kids and then about 6 months after that I found out I was pregnant again, but we tried not to think anything of it, we tried not to be excited for it, but then I got into the second trimester and then the third and eventually you came along… A miracle, you were our little miracle." She smiled at her.

Lorelai smiled back. "I'm sorry mom. I never knew… what happened to the one after I was born"

"Well, we didn't exactly try for it, it just happened and we thought maybe the streak was broken since we had you but no such luck, and we realized we were happy with our beautiful daughter and that was that."

"Wow… mom I am sorry… gee it must have been some disappointment when you were just stuck with me." Lorelai said, thinking about all the times she defied or disappointed her parents, she didn't know this story she didn't know she was some miracle child.

"Don't think like that, but thank you. I told you this because it's important that you move past this. Think about what you do have, think of that beautiful girl you already do have." Emily said.

Lorelai nodded knowing her mother was right, but she also had been thinking over things for the past week, and she wanted to ask someone about them. Now that she knew the story of her mother's hardships, she wanted to confide in her. "Mom… I'm… I'm scared."

"Scared of what dear?"

"What if this is the universes way of telling me I can never have children again? What if this is God's punishment for me for having a kid at 16 and running away and everything else bad I have done, or getting pregnant out of wedlock again." Lorelai was now in hysterics and Emily quickly shifted to hug her daughter.

"No no Lorelai you mustn't think like that. Those are the kinds of thoughts that will stop you from moving forward. And god isn't punishing you, that isn't what he is about, these things just happen, I know I don't say it often but you are a good mother and have done a wonderful job with Rory. You can't find blame for these things…"

"But what if it is true, what if I can't have any more kids, what if I ruined my body by having a kid so young. Then Rory won't be a big sister and Luke won't get to be a dad to his own kids, I mean how can I deny him of that happiness, I don't know what to do!… what do I do Mom!?"

"I don't know what to do about some of those things either, but I do know that you need to get out of bed and eat something, you need to talk to your daughter and Luke, you need to stop these bad thoughts because they are so not you, and I know you shouldn't make any harsh decisions right at this minute, ok? Because this isn't you, this isn't the Lorelai I know…"

Lorelai nodded and surprised her with a hug. "I love you mom."

Emily felt tears in her eyes. "I love you too." And both decided that was enough feel-good moment between them for now so Emily then went back downstairs and found Luke in the kitchen. Luke saw her and nodded in acknowledgement.

"Has she been like that all week?" Emily asked.

Luke sighed. "Yeah, I've tried to get her up but she doesn't want to do anything. I don't know what to do." He admitted.

Emily sat down at the table. "It will take time but she will be back to normal soon."

"God I hope so. I mean this was a devastating blow… but seeing her like this… it just really breaks my heart. I know it's affecting Rory too." He said.

Emily nodded. "And how are you doing, Luke?"

Luke was taken aback by her question. "Oh um well…"

Emily smiled softly at him. "It was your child too. It must be affecting you too." She said remembering how Richard was all those years ago.

Luke sighed. "I…just need to be strong for Lorelai and Rory, I'm just glad that they are both physically ok from that night."

Emily smiled at his concern for her daughter and granddaughter. "You're a good man, Luke. Lorelai is very lucky." She said sincerely.

Luke was surprised by her kindness. "Thank you Mrs Gilmore." He said.

"Please… call me Emily, you've certainly deserved it by now, it was very impressive what you did on the beach that night."

Rory came home at that moment with some groceries and went to the kitchen; she was surprised to see Emily there. "Oh hi Grandma I didn't realize you were back!" She said giving her a hug.

"Hello Rory." Emily smiled at her granddaughter.

Rory gave Luke the bag of groceries who started taking them out. He looked at Rory, holding red vines and Mallomars. "And how are these going to fit into a lasagna?" He said.

Rory grinned. "It's for afterwards!"

"Oh for afterwards is it?" Luke smirked.

"And maybe a few while you're teaching me…and maybe some for now" Rory grinned.

"Yeah thought so!" Luke smirked handing her the packet of red vines.

"Teaching you?" Emily asked, watching their interaction.

"Yeah, Luke's going to teach me to cook!" Rory smiled taking out a couple of red vines.

"Yeah it might actually mean they will eat healthily for once, well before I sent her to store on her own." He said snatching the packet back from her so she could actually make the candy last till later.

Emily smirked at that and then stood up. "Well I should get going. It was nice seeing you both, let me know how Lorelai is doing soon."

"I will, bye Emily." Luke nodded.

"Bye Grandma!" Rory smiled giving her another hug.

* * *

Some days went by and Lorelai still wasn't any better. She was getting frustrated by Luke trying to make her perform basic human functions like eating, and showering and getting dressed, not to mention try to eventually get out the house as well.

Luke was up in their room. "Lorelai, why don't you go to the inn? I'm sure Sookie would love to see you, hell I even think Michele misses you." He said softly.

"No. I don't want to..." She grumbled sullenly.

"You should get some fresh air then at least. Go for a walk or something, come with me to the diner, get some coffee then you can relax in the apartment for a bit… just try leave this bed, please babe for me." He suggested.

"No! Just leave me alone!" Lorelai snapped.

"I know you're upset and sad and angry but don't take it out on me please… I mean we can try again right? This happens to a lot of people."

 _Can we try again though?_ She thought. "Not right now we can't… Look, I don't want to talk to anyone, I don't want to do anything, I don't want to eat anything, so just stop! You don't know how I feel right now and I don't particularly want to talk about it, and I don't want to answer the stupid questions from our crazy neighbors about why I have been MIA especially since no one knew about the baby, OK!."

"I don't know how you feel?! I don't?!" he snapped back

"NO YOU DON'T!"

"Lorelai, for goodness sake, I know how you feel, ok, I really do."

"How? The baby wasn't inside of you! Even if it was the size of a peanut! Also You didn't see your daughter being held at knife-point, you didn't pass out from loss of blood." She snapped without thinking.

Luke was hurt. "No it wasn't and No I didn't… but I DID see the only girl I love like a daughter be held at knife-point and I DID see the love of my life collapse to the sand with blood showing, OK those moments were two of the scariest things I have ever witnessed, and I would be nothing without you, so if I lost you two I would never be the same, I would never forgive myself… Dammit! It was my baby too! Lorelai! I'm hurting too, but I am not gonna sit around doing nothing but mope all day. I'm just trying to help you!" he yelled at her.

"Well don't!" she yelled back.

"You don't want me to help?! Fine!

"Fine!" she answered back

"I'm going to the diner." He said and left, slamming the door on the way out.

She winced at the sound of the door slamming, for a split second she considered rushing after him, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Instead she decided to try her mother's advice, which was shocking in itself. She got out of bed and grabbed some clean clothes for a shower. On her way down the hall towards the bathroom, she passed the small empty room that only contained a rocking chair, the door was still open, and she stood in the doorway, seeing it for the first time since she had come home.

Instead of thinking about what little person could be living in there in the future, she just thought about how cold and empty it now looked, and the rocking chair just made it sad and creepy. Eventually she turned away from the room shutting the door on it and shutting the door on any future plans for kids she may have had and continued to the bathroom to finally take an overdue shower.

* * *

Later that evening, Rory came home from a dire needed vent session with Lane, who was sympathetic to everything her best friend had going on. When she walked in the door, she saw a lump on the couch, thinking maybe it was her mom, out cold from a movie session, only it wasn't her mom. Luke was fast asleep sleep on the sofa. She sighed. She knew they were fighting more these days but she was hoping they would sort it out. She went to her room and tried to sleep but was overcome with worry about her mom and Luke, she knew from any good wholesome couple seen in movies or television that the guy sleeping on the couch is never a good sign.

It stayed like that for another week. Luke and Lorelai were having more arguments, snapping at each other with every little thing and he remained sleeping on the sofa. Rory didn't even know if Lorelai noticed he had been doing that since he waited till she was asleep and always rose early for the diner. She also didn't know if Lorelai particularly cared what Luke was doing.

One morning, it was Caesar's turn to open the diner, well really Caesar enforced he do it and let Luke get more sleep. So Luke was making breakfast in the kitchen when Lorelai finally came down freshly showered, hair and makeup done and wearing a pantsuit. She went to the kitchen. "I'm going to the inn." She said grabbing her bag and not even daring to look at Luke.

Luke was glad she was up and dressed, on the outside she looked like normal Lorelai again. "Good but how about you have some breakfast first." He said.

"No I'm not hungry." She said brushing him off.

"Since when are you not hungry?" Luke joked.

"Since now. I'll be back later." She said and went out.

He was about to suggest coffee, her life elixir, but before the words could come out; the front door closed. Luke sighed and carried on with what he was doing. Rory came out of her room. "Was that mom?"

"Yeah she's gone to the inn." He said.

"That's good, right?" Rory asked.

Luke sighed. "I think so, I mean she's out of the house…" _getting away from me I presume._

"But…"

"But she still isn't eating and she didn't take any coffee."

Rory looked at him sympathetically, he looked defeated. "Are you ok?" She asked hoping his guard would be down.

Luke gave her a small smile and put on a positive front for the teen. "I'm fine. Now, do you fancy pancakes for breakfast?" He said changing the subject.

Rory nodded and smiled although she couldn't help but sense something more was going on and it worried her. Truthfully she was thankful for everything Luke had done or said for her… but she missed her mom, she was still in the same house as her but Lorelai had locked herself away and… well she just missed her.

* * *

Lorelai, did actually go to the inn that day but it wasn't until around lunchtime. Before that she went off to Doctor Harper's office without Luke knowing. She had scheduled an appointment as a follow up for the D and C and she needed questions answered, her concerns were keeping her up at night and caused her to keep Luke at a distance.

She wanted to know her chances of conceiving again, the reason for the miscarriage, and what should she do for the future… really she just wanted closure. She was examined by a technician and was then called into the room by her doctor.

"How are you doing Ms Gilmore?" Doctor Harper asked.

"I'm OK…" Lorelai smiled weakly.

"You've had a rough time of it I can see"

"Yeah I guess I have…"

"Well from the examination and the tests, everything looks good, no infections or anything, have you had any more bleeding or cramps.

"Uh no…"

"Alright then you're all clear, is there anything else I can help you with today?"

"Uh yeah actually…I just wanted to ask you about something…"

"Go ahead."

"I was just… wondering… why did this happen? You said everything was good."

"From your scan everything did look good, these things just happen, a number of factors could be included, but I would just say the accident didn't help, and I was informed of the events right before the miscarriage which wouldn't have helped, but like I said there is no one specific reason for it.

"OK… so what my chances would be of having more kids." She asked quietly.

The doctor smiled sympathetically. "I should say from what I saw today, you should be able to conceive again, you're still at a reasonable age for now, but you need to remember that your body is still recovering from your accident, so give it some months to completely heal before trying."

"So that means I may just keep having miscarriages?"

"Not necessarily but you need to take your accident into account. I'm not saying you can't have any more kids. I'm just saying maybe wait some more time for your body to recover fully, it wasn't a scratch, you were in a coma for over a month and remember it takes ten times longer to heal the damage that was done… but when you do feel like enough time has gone by and you want to try again then feel free and if after a while no results are happening or if another instance like this or an ectopic pregnancy occurs we can then do more tests and weigh in the options but for now just give it time." The doctor said.

Lorelai sighed and nodded. "Thanks doctor. That's all I wanted to know."

"I don't mean to scare you Lorelai, just try take care of yourself."

Lorelai gave her a small smile and left feeling downhearted.

* * *

Afterwards Lorelai had arrived at the inn, she had been having some staff drop off paperwork to her front door so she wasn't too far behind on work but this was the first time stepping back into her head manager role since the vineyard.

"Well well well, isn't it nice that the boss gracing us with her presence..." Michel said in his typical French inflection.

"Sooo not in the mood, Michel." Lorelai said going straight to the kitchen.

"Hey Sook…" She said going to the coffee pot.

"Lorelai! Hey! I've been so worried but it's so good to see you" Sookie smiled. "Wait sweetie, should you be drinking that?"

"Why shouldn't I be?" Lorelai asked

"Uh because of the…" She pointed to her stomach to symbolize the baby, but then she saw Lorelai's face. "What's wrong honey?"

Lorelai sat down and immediately put her hands in her face. "Everything Sook, everything!" She said letting tears run down her face.

Sookie dismissed her kitchen staff who noticed Lorelai breaking down and she sat down next to her. "Popcorn, what's wrong? Is something wrong with Rory? Or Luke?" She asked.

Lorelai shook her head. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you but I wasn't ready to face anyone or talk to anyone but now I just need to talk to someone, and it can't be Luke or Rory so that leaves you." She said.

"You're not making any sense. You know you can tell me anything." Sookie said softly.

"I…I can drink coffee… because… th…there is no more baby…" She said with tears pouring down her eyes.

"No more baby? Lorelai, I don't understand"

"I lost it when we went on that holiday to Martha's Vineyard." She cried.

"Oh hon, I'm so sorry!" She said placing a hand on her best friend's shoulder, enveloping her into a Sookie type hug.

"Everything's falling apart Sook. Luke and I are having more arguments, we can't even be in the same room with each other and now he's sleeping on the sofa…" Lorelai admitted.

"Well it must be hard for both of you." Sookie sympathized. "You should talk to Luke, hon. He's going through exactly the same thing as you."

Lorelai sighed. "It's just all too much. He's being so lovely and I'm being so horrible to him. He deserves so much better, I'm this broken, washed up teen mom, and don't get me wrong Rory is the best thing that has happened to me but I am damaged goods, he deserves someone who can make him happy, who can make him a dad with the perfect family. He deserves better, he can do better."

"No he doesn't. He loves you! You make him happy, you and Rory, since he's been together with you, it's the happiest I have ever seen him and I have known him a long time." Sookie said.

"He deserves better." Lorelai repeated not really taking what Sookie said into account.

* * *

Later that evening, Lorelai went home and found Luke on the sofa watching a game on TV.

"Hey…" She said quietly waiting to see if they would be getting into an argument before she came closer.

Luke turned round. "Hey…" to acknowledge her, but he too, was afraid they would implode again.

"We need to talk..." Lorelai said sitting next to him and he turned off the TV.

"Yeah… we do." Luke said.

"I'm sorry I've been so horrible." Lorelai said.

"Lorelai, it's fine. I understand, I just don't want to be pushed away anymore." He said.

"Yeah… But you've been so lovely. You deserve more than someone who snaps at you the whole time and drives you away so much that you now sleep on the couch… you don't deserve someone who can't even carry your child." She said tearfully.

"Don't say that. You heard the doctor, things like that just happen." He said softly. "Lorelai, I love you so much. We can get through this, I know we can."

Lorelai shook her head crying. "I'm sorry. I want you to be happy, you deserve to be happy, I saw how happy you were when you thought you were gonna be a dad, and I can't even give that to you, I can't keep letting you play second fiddle to my almost seventeen year old daughter either. I don't want to hold you back from getting your own happiness, so… I'm letting you go." She said.

Luke was shocked. "Lorelai, I am happy! I love you, I love Rory, I don't want to go. Shouldn't I get a say in this?"

"I'm sorry but this is my decision. I don't want to be responsible for why you can't have the family you want, the family you deserve… and I think you should move back to the apartment…" She said tearfully, even though this is what she had decided, it was still killing her to do so. "I'm so sorry, Luke, but this is for the best." She said, getting up and running upstairs.

Luke sat there in shock but slowly got up, what choice did he have. He grabbed some things and walked to the front door. He stopped when he saw Rory standing in the foyer with a tear-stained face. She had overheard the whole thing.

"You're leaving?" She said.

"I think your mom needs some space, so that is what I am giving her." He said softly.

"NO! Please don't go. I don't want you to go." Rory said like a little girl with tears running down her face.

"Hey, come here." He said softly, holding out his arms to her.

Rory rushed forward and hugged him tightly. "Please stay...I don't want to lose you."

Luke sighed, not wanting to hurt Rory. He hugged her tightly, stroking her hair with one hand. "You will never lose me, OK? I will always be around, any time, you need me, I'll be there" He said softly.

"Promise?" She asked quietly.

"I promise." Luke said softly. He gently pulled out of the hug. "I will always be here for you, I promise."

Rory nodded and hugged him again quickly. "I love you Daddy Luke." She said quietly.

Luke smiled and felt tears well up in his eyes and tried choking down the lump in his throat. "I love you too kid." He said softly. "Take care of your mom for me." He added before leaving and driving off in his truck back to his man-cave of solitude.

Rory watched him leave, tears falling down her face. As much as she wanted to confront her mom, she couldn't so she went to her room and took out her phone and dialed a number. "Tristan? I need you…" She cried into the phone.

* * *

 **Sooo depressing again? yeah I thought so, but my life is a pathetic mess these days so I am taking it out on Lorelai whilst binge eating on chips and chocolate.**

 **Reviews might cheer me up...'jus sayin'**


	22. Chapter 22

I know I know, Long wait. I'm slack what can I say... Sorry

* * *

 **Previously…**

 **Rory nodded and hugged him again quickly. "I love you Daddy Luke." She said quietly.**

 **Luke smiled and felt tears well up in his eyes and tried choking down the lump in his throat. "I love you too kid." He said softly. "Take care of your mom for me." He added before leaving and driving off in his truck back to his man-cave of solitude.**

 **Rory watched him leave, tears falling down her face. As much as she wanted to confront her mom, she couldn't so she went to her room and took out her phone and dialed a number. "Tristan? I need you…" She cried into the phone.**

"Rory?" Tristan replied. "What's happened? Are you OK?" He asked concerned.

"Not really, C…Could you come? Please…" Rory asked tearfully.

"Yeah babe, I'll be there as soon as possible." He said.

Forty minutes later, the doorbell rang. Rory rushed to the door and hugged Tristan. He came bearing coffee, chocolate and other candy delights in hope that whatever was wrong could be helped even just a little with her comfort foods. She gratefully accepted them and led him into her room, she sat down on the bed and huffed.

"What's wrong?" He asked gently sitting next to her.

"Everything!" Rory began crying again.

"Talk to me." Tristan said softly, pulling her into his chest to cry on.

"Everything's going wrong. Mom's still bad, physically she's nearly fine but she's hurt and broken, and now Luke's gone…"

"Wait what? Luke's gone?"

"Mom kicked him out, this is what she does when she's not the normal Lorelai, she pushes the people closest to her away, except for me, so that leaves Luke." Rory said.

"Wow…" Tristan said. "She must be in a bad way. They seemed so into each other." He said.

"They both love each other, I know they do. I miss him already and he's only been gone for less than an hour but I think it's because I know he won't be coming back." Rory said quietly. "Don't get me wrong, I feel so sorry for my mom. Losing a baby must be devastating. I mean, I lost a sibling but she's been the same for a few weeks now and I don't know what to do. Luke always stayed positive but with him gone, I just don't know how I will cope, I got use to the idea of him being around you know? Like a family, but it was childish fantasy I guess." She said.

"No it wasn't a childish fantasy, it's a perfectly normal thing to want. And you don't have to do this on your own, you have me, and I am sure if you try, you could talk to your mom about how you feel" Tristan asked.

"She won't listen. She's got it into her head that he deserves better and deserves someone who can give him a family, she doesn't want to be the one held responsible for stopping him having the family or the happiness he deserves." Rory sighed.

"Well that's crazy, I don't know Luke all that well but he seemed happy with your mom and you. I don't know if I am saying this right but I'm sure it'll be OK. Your mom just needs time." Tristan said. "And I'm always here if you need to talk." He smiled, holding her even closer.

Rory gave him a small smile and snuggled into his embrace without trying to hurt his healing ribs. "Thanks.", she eventually fell asleep like that and he didn't want to move her, so he too ended up falling asleep. When Lorelai woke up in the middle of the night to go downstairs and get some water, she saw Rory's bedroom light still on. She went to check in on her daughter only to find a boy in bed with her daughter. Well not in bed per say, they were fully clothed and still on top of the blankets.

Any other normal night, Lorelai would have been freaked, but she could still see tear tracks on her daughter's face, that told Lorelai that Rory was upset, probably about Luke. _If Luke was here and saw this he would be having a cow and probably try castrate Tristan then and there._ The thoughts of Luke re-entered her mind and she just silently crawled back into her bed, crying herself asleep for the second time that night.

* * *

After a few days of what was turning out to be a miserable end of summer, Rory went out for a walk to get some air and clear her thoughts, she had told her mom she was going to Lanes, and initially she was until she spotted the diner. She looked across the square and saw that Luke's was packed. She knew everyone must have found out about the break up, but of course they didn't know why, which is why they were jammed in the small diner.

She took a deep breath and walked across to the diner. She paused outside the door and then went in. Everyone went a bit quieter when they saw it was Rory. She saw Luke come out of the kitchen with plates of food, looking stressed and tired. He looked up and saw her and his expression softened. Rory went up to the counter and waited for him.

"Hey Luke…" Rory gave him a small smile when he approached her.

"Hi…" He replied. Both didn't know exactly what to say to each other.

"Sooo… This place is busy." Rory said looking round.

"Yeah it's been like this for the past few days… of course we know why what with the stupid bunch of gossips living in this town, but a busload of tourists just stopped in, so its chaos at the moment." Luke said.

"Well, people got to eat so you shouldn't have to worry about business, so that's good."

"Yeah I guess so." They were quiet again, while Luke made a new pot of coffee. "So how are you?" He asked her.

"Can we skip to the next question?" She said indifferently. Truthfully she couldn't describe how she was doing.

"OK… How's your mom doing?" He asked a bit quieter.

Rory sighed knowing that was coming. "Well she's agreed to go to my grandparents' for dinner tonight."

"Agreed? You mean she had a choice?" He jokes.

"Not really, Grandma has decided it's time, so I guess that's a good thing."

"Yeah that's good." Luke said.

"I think she's getting a bit better... about the whole uh… beach thing…"

"I'm glad."

"I miss you though." Rory confessed quietly.

"I miss you too." Luke said.

"…and mom misses you too, I know she does."

"Rory –" he started to say.

"Luke, can you cut my pancakes into stars today?" Kirk cut in.

"Kirk you're a grown man, why do you need your pancakes cut into the shape of stars."

"Because I like night time and that's when the stars are out, but I am asleep when it's night time so I can't look at the stars… and you cut them better than me." He explained in his Kirk-like way. Luke huffed and rolled his eyes at the town ignoramus.

Rory smirked and got an idea. "Hey, Luke, would you like some help? I'm free all day."

"If you can keep Kirk quiet, then I'll even pay you." He smirked happy to be talking to one of his girls again.

Rory laughed. "I'll try my best." She said getting up and putting on an apron that Luke handed to her.

With how busy the diner was, Rory forgot about everything during that day and she actually had some fun, working with Luke and joking a bit with him as well, as a bonus it confused the hell out of 'hello magazine', questioning if their sources of the break up were true after all. Luke noticed this too, _eh leave them wondering, what right do they have to know my personal life._

Soon it was late in the afternoon and the tour bus had set off so there weren't many people left.

"Hey Rory, it's nearly 5, you should get back to your mom. Especially if you have dinner planned." He said.

Rory nodded reluctantly. "I guess. Thanks for letting me help out."

"Thanks for helping out." Luke smiled.

Rory smiled and gave him a hug. "Bye Luke."

"See ya Rory." He said and watched her leave. He then sighed and went to sort out the last orders, he decided he would close earlier than usual that day, truthfully he would have closed as soon as the bus left town but he enjoyed having Rory's company again. He was always a lone wolf and had he stayed away from the Gilmore Girls he probably would have stayed that way, but unfortunately for his bachelor life he had gotten the glimpse of being a part of a family again and this time it was something he longed for, or more specifically the person he wanted to have it with.

* * *

Rory got home and found her mom dressed but shoe-less for dinner and was watching TV, she had been waiting for Rory. Lorelai turned round and smiled at her. "Had a nice day with Lane?" She asked.

"Um yeah, it was good. I'll just go get dressed for dinner, then we can go." Rory said and went to her room.

An hour later, they were stood outside the Gilmore Mansion. Lorelai turned to Rory.

"Are you OK? You were really quiet during the drive" She asked.

"I'm fine. Let's just go in." Rory said ringing the doorbell, for once in her life, her mom was one of the last people she wanted to talk to about the reason for this specific funk.

Emily opened it and greeted them. They had some drinks and made small talk. The maid came in an announced dinner was ready so they all headed through to the dining room for dinner.

"So Luke couldn't make it today?" Emily asked near the end of the main course, her curiosity had been killing her from the moment they walked in and she had to ask.

"Um no, he couldn't… actually, uh, we broke up." Lorelai said casually, continuing eating her meal.

"Oh I am so sorry Lorelai." Her dad said.

Rory had to roll her eyes at this, "You broke up with him." she muttered.

"What was that?" Lorelai said, she had heard her daughters muttering but she couldn't quite believe how she was behaving.

Rory dropped her fork, making a clattering sound on her plate. "I said YOU broke up with HIM, you're acting like it was a mutual thing. It wasn't. You kicked Luke out." Rory said pointedly.

"Rory don't talk to her mother that way" Emily exclaimed.

"Rory…" Lorelai said softly, now realizing the effect this was having on her.

"No! You don't get to Rory me!" Rory cried. She dumped her napkin onto her plate and ran into the other room.

Emily and Richard watched on in surprise, they had never seen this sort of behaviour from their granddaughter especially towards her mother. Lorelai got up and followed Rory. She found her sobbing and wiping tears off her cheeks in the living room.

"Hon…" Lorelai said softly. She felt remorseful and guilty for only focusing on herself when she should always be focussing on Rory 100% of the time.

"Mom, I don't… I can't talk right now…" Rory said quietly.

"Please. What was that all about?" She asked sitting next to her.

"Why did you break up with him, why did you kick Luke out?"

"Hon, he deserves better. I was letting him go." She said softly.

"Why? I mean he did everything right, he just wanted to be there for you, to be with you! He was in that hospital room with you, day in and day out hoping and praying you would wake up and at the same time take care of me. And when it was his time to need someone you just blew him off, I know you were hurting too, but he needed you just as much as you needed him. He didn't deserve being treated that way."

"Exactly, he deserves more, though he won't admit it, he wants a family, and I am scared that what if I can't give him that? What if this was the beginning of the end? He deserves to have that happiness. So I let him go before it was too late, before he got in too deep."

"And you think he wanted someone else, that he would be happy with someone else? And what about me?" Rory exclaimed.

"What do you mean?" Lorelai said confused.

"Mom, Luke lived with me for a month while you were in that coma. He looked after me, and it was like my family was complete for once. Kicking him out didn't just hurt you guys, it hurt me too!"

"I'm sorry. I…I didn't realize." She said close to tears.

Rory sighed. "Mom, I know you've been through a lot and I'm so sorry about that but you didn't need to let Luke go. He was suffering too. He just didn't show it. But he loves you, and I know you love him, so this whole thing is just pointless."

Lorelai didn't say anything. She honestly hadn't realized how much Rory had been affected by this.

"Mom… I wasn't with Lane today." Rory admitted.

"What?" Lorelai said surprised.

"I…I helped out at the diner…" She said quietly.

"Oh Rory…" She said softly.

"I didn't plan it, I just wanted to see him. It was packed when I got there so I offered to help out. He told me if I could get Kirk to shut up, he'd actually pay me as well." Rory smiled a bit at the memory.

Lorelai smiled weakly at that, imagining the scene. "Rory, you don't need to hide that you went to the diner…" She said. "How…How was he?"

"He looked like he hadn't slept in days, and he was extra grumpy, he literally threw Taylor out by the hem of his knitted sweater." Rory said honestly.

Lorelai sighed. "I never wanted to hurt him, I was trying to do the opposite."

"I know… Can we go home?" Rory asked. "I don't really want to talk about it anymore, and I don't want to explain my outburst to the grandparents."

"Um yeah OK. I'll go and ask if we can skip dessert." She said.

* * *

As Luke was doing his closing ritual, Rachel went into the diner and saw Luke. "Luke…"

"Oh. Hey Rachel..." He said.

"I've been trying to find Lorelai for days now but I can't find her, I thought you would know where she is. I need to talk to her." She said.

"Sorry. I don't. We... um… broke up…" Luke said.

Rachel was surprised, _if any two people should be together it's those two_. "What, why?"

Luke didn't want anyone to know about the miscarriage, not even Rachel even if she did know about the pregnancy. "Lorelai hasn't been in the best place lately and we've been arguing a lot. She broke up with me a few days ago saying I deserved better. I couldn't change her mind so I left." He said sadly.

"I'm sorry Luke. I'm sure she will change her mind, I hope she changes her mind." She said sympathetically.

Luke nodded remembering Rory's reaction as he walked away. "Yeah me too."

"Knowing this makes me feel even worse having to tell Lorelai my news…" Rachel sighed.

"Your news?"

"I…I'm pregnant…" She said.

Luke was surprised and a little hurt too, hearing his ex was pregnant just as he lost his own baby stung a little. "Wow. Um congratulations!"

Rachel gave him a small smile. "Thanks."

"It's Chris's right?"

"Yeah, which is why I need to talk to Lorelai, she's been through this… and with Chris too."

"Does he know?"

"He knows I thought I was pregnant but not that I have confirmed it, I just need to talk to Lorelai, I need advice… from a friend, and someone who knows how to handle Chris."

"Well good luck with that, at this point I would say it would be a bad idea to talk to her about this, I guess you need to tell Lorelai before she finds out from someone else. More for Rory's sake." Luke said.

"I know." She said quietly. "I'll try talk to her tonight."

"She's at her parents in Hartford for dinner, I don't know when they will be back, it depends if Lorelai has it out with her mom sometime during the night."

"OK I'll just wait for them anyway, and now I'll leave you to it." She said.

"Rachel?" He asked before she left.

"Yeah?" She asked turning round by the door.

"Are you happy?"

"I… think so… but I am scared too." She confessed.

"Don't be, it will be great for you" Luke smiled. "Congratulations." He said sincerely.

"Thanks Luke." She smiled and then left.

* * *

The girls were driving home from dinner, and reached the square. From habit they looked over to the diner to see if Luke was there or had gone to bed. That's when they saw Luke's truck in front of the diner packed with things and Luke locking up the diner, tossing a duffle bag into the bed of the truck.

"No. He can't leave! He didn't say he was leaving." Rory said shocked.

"Rory…"

"No! He's been there for me over the last six months. I can't lose him!" Rory exclaimed. "Mom, please! Go get him to stay!"

"I can't…."

"Please!" Rory begged.

"It's too late…" Lorelai sighed.

Rory looked over and she Luke getting into the truck and driving off. "He didn't say anything about leaving today…" she said quietly.

"Maybe he didn't want to upset you." Lorelai said softly.

Rory felt tears in her eyes. "I want to go home."

Lorelai drove them back and parked in their driveway. Lorelai frowned when she saw Rachel waiting on their front porch. They got out of the jeep and Rory ran straight inside without saying a word to her mom.

Lorelai walked up to Rachel. "Hi Rachel… uh now's not a really good time" She said.

"Oh, I've been trying to talk to you for a while now, and Luke told me you were out at dinner and didn't know when you would be back so I have just been waiting, I hope that is OK, I really need to talk to you." Rachel said desperately.

"You talk to you Luke… Did he tell you that –" Lorelai said.

"Yeah he told me you two were broken up…" Rachel sighed. "Well this is going to be even harder but I thought you deserved to know before you heard from someone else."

"I know Luke's left. Rory and I just saw his truck drive off." Lorelai said.

"No it's not about that... Wait he left? Why?" Rachel asked confused.

"Long story." Lorelai sighed sitting next to Rachel on the porch swing. "What did you want to tell me then?"

"I know we haven't known each other that long, but I figured we are friends and you've been through this… and… I need your advice." Rachel sighed and looked at Lorelai. "I'm pregnant…"

* * *

 **Let me know what you think...**  
 **Please stick with me, things gotta get hard before they get good right? Well that's what everyone is telling me with my life so why not the same with Java Junkies...**

 **Cheer me up with Reviews guys...**


	23. Chapter 23

Oh man, Guys I am so sorry I made you wait 2 whole weeks! Things have been hectic, I crashed my mom's car, I have a brand new nephew and have been looking after his 3 year old brother who is exhausting, plus my life sucks with other stuff going on but you don't wanna hear about that but here is the chapter.

* * *

 **Previously…**

" **You talk to you Luke… Did he tell you that –" Lorelai said.**

" **Yeah he told me you two were broken up…" Rachel sighed. "Well this is going to be even harder but I thought you deserved to know before you heard from someone else."**

" **I know Luke's left. Rory and I just saw his truck drive off." Lorelai said.**

" **No it's not about that... Wait he left? Why?" Rachel asked confused.**

" **Long story." Lorelai sighed sitting next to Rachel on the porch swing. "What did you want to tell me then?"**

" **I know we haven't known each other that long, but I figured we are friends and you've been through this… and… I need your advice." Rachel sighed and looked at Lorelai. "I'm pregnant…"**

"Oh um wow…" Lorelai didn't know what to say but she felt a cool sting of sadness mixed with jealousy and the bitterness was not far behind.

"I know this isn't the best time to tell you. Luke said you were in a bad place but I didn't want you to hear from someone else." Rachel sighed. "I thought you deserved to know."

"Wow" she breathed out, "you're pregnant…" Lorelai said.

"Yeah…"

"I'm assuming its Chris'?"

"Yeah it is. Which is another reason why I wanted to talk to you, because this kind of affects Rory, which would then affect you… and you've done this before and doing it again, I really don't know what to do."

Lorelai tried to ignore the 'doing it again' part. "Does he know? Chris, does he know?"

"I told him I might be but I haven't confirmed it to him yet, I only just saw my Gyno' today. I don't know how to tell him..." She admitted.

"Yeah I had the same problem... but I was 16" Lorelai sighed. Suddenly she felt tears running down her face.

"Lorelai, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. I know you and Chris have a long history, I didn't think you would be this upset, I should go…" Rachel said.

"No no, stay… it's not you or the fact Chris is having another kid. I mean yeah it's a shock but that's not it." Lorelai said wiping her tears. She looked at Rachel. "Luke didn't tell you, did he?"

"Didn't tell me what?" She asked.

"Why I broke up with him."

"No. He just said you were in a bad place and that you two were arguing more." Rachel said.

Lorelai put her head in her hands. "While we were on vacation at Martha's Vineyard, there was an incident… and I… I lost the baby..."

"Oh Lorelai, I'm so sorry!" Rachel said. "Now I feel even worse… I should not have come here. God I feel like I have rubbed this in your face, I am so sorry, truly I am, I will go if you want me to."

"No it's not your fault. I'm glad you told me, honestly, because you're right it does affect Rory, and we are friends and trust me you need friends for this, I know… because I didn't have any back then. I don't mean to cry all over you, I just…I'm a bit of a mess at the moment..." She said.

"I can imagine." Rachel said. "I'm really sorry and I'm sorry about you and Luke. I thought you two would be together forever." She said honestly.

Lorelai sighed. "Yeah me too. But he deserves better. He deserves someone who can give him a family."

"Is that what you think? Lorelai, take it from someone who has known him longer than you have, who has seen him grow into who he is today… Luke loves you! It seems he's always loved you. Ever since I came back, I could see it, I saw a change in him and it's because of you, before you Luke was never a family kind of guy, but now he's come around to the idea because of you! Don't you see? He only wants YOU! It doesn't matter if he has kids or not, so long as he has you..." Rachel said.

Lorelai put his head in his hands. "I've screwed it all up haven't I? I hurt Luke and now Rory hates me…"

"OK now you're just being silly, Rory could never hate you. I've never seen a mother and daughter so close like you two." She said.

"Yeah but she had gotten so close to Luke and now she hates me for pushing him away…" Lorelai said.

"Ah..." Rachel said.

"Man I'm such an awful person." She exclaimed.

"No you're not. You're just going through something horrible at the moment. It's understandable that you're not exactly yourself right now."

Lorelai smiled at her weakly, they sat in silence for a moment collecting their thoughts. "So are you going to tell Chris about the baby?" Lorelai asked.

Rachel sighed. "I want to, I mean I have to. I'm just scared…"

"Of what?"

"Of… Of what he did when Rory was born, of him running off and not being there… I'm not you, I don't think I could do this on my own."

Lorelai nodded in understanding. "Rachel I think you should give a chance, I've not seen him this happy for a long time. He's happy because of you and he's not 16 and he doesn't act like an idiot anymore. If he loves you which I know he does, he will support you in this."

"How do you know he loves me? We haven't been together all that long."

"Oh please, when I introduced you two there were fireworks going off and harps serenading the room, it was like something from a Disney Technicolor production you were just missing the bunnies and the little deer."

"Ok ok I get it." Rachel said with a smile before growing serious again. "But… He loved you..." Rachel pointed out.

"Yeah but we were young, it was like high school sweet heart puppy love and truthfully a part of me will always love him because I got Rory. But also we had so much pressure on us. My parents wanted us to get married, I think our Moms were planning the ceremony since we were 6 years old… Trust me Rachel, I think the thing you two have is one for the story books."

"Thanks Lorelai, you know what? Now that I think about it I kind of hope you're right. So are you going to tell Rory?" She asked referring to the baby.

"I think Chris should do that once you tell him." Lorelai said.

Rachel nodded. "Well I should get going. I…I am really sorry Lorelai for dumping this on you. You didn't deserve any of this but thanks for listening, and here is some return advice… You should talk to Luke. He's special and you two belong together."

Lorelai smiled weakly. "Thanks."

Rachel went to walk away but turned back a few metres away. "Hey um Lorelai? Do… Do you think when you start to feel better, I could come talk to you about stuff… I don't really have friends in this town I could talk to about this kind of thing." She asked softly, to which Lorelai simply nodded with a reassuring smile and then Rachel continued walking away.

Lorelai watched her and then walked slowly back inside the house. She went to Rory's room and saw her already in bed asleep. She removed the book that was sitting on her chest and kissed her forehead and turned to leave until something on Rory's bedside table caught her attention. It was a photo of Rory and Luke loosely on its own leaning against the photo frame of her and Rory with 'Family' captioned within the quirky frame.

They were in the living room watching TV. Rory's head was on Luke's shoulder and Luke had his arm round her. They were laughing about something. She realised this must have been when she was in hospital after her accident. Lorelai assumed Lane must have taken the photo or something. She smiled sadly at it. She knew Rory had gone through a lot but Luke was obviously trying to cheer her up. It was a lovely photo. She sighed and put it back down. She looked at her daughter and felt guilty about how badly that this was hurting her too. Lorelai gave Rory another kiss, stroked her hair out of her face and adjusted her blankets a little higher and then went up to bed herself.

* * *

The next morning, Lorelai uncharacteristically willingly went around to her parents' house. She rang the doorbell and Emily answered it.

"Lorelai! Is everything alright?" She said surprised.

"Hi mom. Sorry to stop by without calling, I just…can I come in?" Lorelai asked.

"Of course. Would you like a drink?" Emily asked.

"No thanks, I'm ok." She said following her mom into the living room and sat down on the sofa.

"Well what do I owe this visit?"

"I just wanted to apologise about dinner and us leaving early yesterday." She said.

"Oh." Emily was surprised. "It's quite alright given the circumstances. Is Rory ok? She definitely wasn't herself."

Lorelai sighed. "I guess I didn't realise… all of this… my actions and such would hurt her so much."

"Luke?" Emily guessed.

Lorelai nodded. "I knew they had gotten closer than ever this year. I just…I guess I didn't consider her in my decision when I let him go. Oh god it sounds so much worse saying it out loud, I'm a terrible mother. Rory hates me!" She said putting her head in her hands.

"Lorelai, you're not a terrible mother. Rory doesn't hate you. She could never hate you. She's just hurting, like you. I admit, I wasn't the greatest fan of Luke when you started dating but I realised he made you happy and well I could see he loved Rory and he cared for both of you better than anyone I could imagine." Emily admitted. "He took such good care of her when you were in hospital although I wouldn't admit it at the time, partially because I only saw a fraction of what he did but I heard a lot of the things from Richard. I realize now that she got through the whole ordeal as steadily as she did because of him."

"Yeah she said some things similar to that." Lorelai sighed. "After I came to and was weaned off the meds I did start to notice how much closer they were..." Lorelai's eyes began pooling up and her throat started constricting. "I just don't know what to do, mom. Luke deserves someone who can give him a family. He deserves to be happy."

"Lorelai, Luke loves you! A blind rat could tell that much. That's not going to change. He loves you and he loves Rory. He wants a family with both of you and if you can't give him another child then I am positive it wouldn't matter all that much because he would be more than happy with the two of you." Emily said softly. "Hang on, wait here a minute..." She said getting up. "Richard! Can you come here please?" She called.

Richard came in and his expression softened when he saw his upset daughter. He smiled at her. "Hi Lorelai."

"Hey dad… what are you doing home?"

"Well Lorelai it is a Saturday, I do take the occasional weekend off."

"Right right…" his daughter replied.

"Richard, we need to talk about what happened before we had Lorelai." She said softly.

Richard nodded soberly. "Ah…"

"What about before you had me? Life was easier right?" she said with her curiosity peaking up.

"Lorelai, I thought about leaving your father when we were going through everything…"

"Oh..." Lorelai breathed out, figuring where this was going.

"…but I realised, with his help of course that that wouldn't make my pain go away; it would only make it worse." Emily said softly. "Luke needs you as much as you need him. I know you think you were doing the right thing but it won't help you heal." She looked at Richard.

Richard nodded. "When Emily was… uh… miscarrying, I felt helpless. I felt like I couldn't do anything to help her. I tried to but I didn't know how. Emily pushed me away too. It was hard for both of us."

Emily nodded. "But one day, I felt so lonely and a stranger in my own home because your father stuck to his office and I realised I needed him, so I went down there not saying a word and just collapsed into his arms hysterically crying, and he did the same and then at that point I realised he needed me too. He was going through the exact same emotional pain as me."

Lorelai listened with tears in her eyes. "I thought I was doing the right thing. Luke was being so lovely and I was being so horrible. I thought if I let him go, he wouldn't have to deal with my horribleness." She said sadly. "I've screwed big time, haven't I? I always screw things up! God why do I do this!"

"Sweetheart, first stop that talk, that is not the Lorelai Gilmore I know and raised. Yes you've made mistakes, what kind of person hasn't? But secondly and more importantly, you need to talk to Luke. Knowing Luke, he'll understand." Richard said.

"It's too late. He's left." Lorelai said sadly.

"What? What do you mean left?" Emily asked surprised.

"Rory and I saw him driving his truck packed full of his things last night. I really did push him away." Lorelai said sadly.

"Well then find out where he's gone." She said.

"I wouldn't know where to begin." Lorelai admitted.

"Well perhaps wait until he comes back, he does have his business and home in Stars Hollow, he doesn't seem like the kind of person to just up and abandon his responsibilities. That way you could let the dust settle and give you both time to collect your thoughts on what to say to each other." Richard stated.

"You're right. I should get going, the inn needs me. But thanks…both of you, I needed to hear that." She said.

"Ok but take care of yourself and think about what we said." Emily said.

Lorelai nodded. "I will. Bye mom, bye dad."

* * *

A week later, Rory walked past the diner and saw it was packed. She went in, although she knew Luke wouldn't be in there. They hadn't seen or heard from him since that night he took off in his truck. She went up to the counter when Caesar appeared.

"Hey Caesar! It's packed in here." Rory said.

"Yeah! And I'm on my own, Larry had to skip out suddenly. I can't deal with it. Luke said he'd find someone else to help out but he hasn't yet. I might have to close up but I don't want to lose Luke any money but everyone's getting angry with the slow service, but I am just one guy you know?" He said.

"Hey I can help out." Rory suggested. "I mean I have a week until school starts again hopefully Luke will be back by then, if not we can deal with that."

"Really? That would be a huge help!" He said gratefully.

"Sure! How about you retreat back to your kitchen and I'll deal with the mob upfront." Rory smiled at the Hispanic man, taking an apron and started walking round taking orders. She didn't like to admit it but being in the diner made her feel closer to Luke even though he wasn't there, only a little guilt came over her for not telling her mom; _but how would she find out unless the gossips tell her_.

As it happens, Lorelai had a business meeting with the meat supplier, and as she was returning to the inn by foot she walked past the diner and saw Rory when she gazed into the large window. She paused, sighed and smiled slightly before returning back to work. Their relationship was still a bit strained but was slightly improving.

* * *

When Lorelai headed off to the inn she decided it was time to get her best friend's perspective on this whole situation. She had barely been to the inn since the breakup, only going in to briefly check on things and taking paper work home. She felt bad about keeping Sookie out of the loop. She went in and went straight to the kitchen.

"Hey Sook…" She said.

"Lorelai! Hey honey! I've been worried, you haven't been into the kitchen for over a week and I wanted to give you space, but you're here so I have to ask, are you ok?" Sookie asked.

"I'm guessing you heard?" Lorelai asked.

"I heard snippets round the town, rumours really. So you and Luke broke up?" Sookie asked cautiously.

Lorelai sighed and nodded. "Yeah, well no, more like I broke up with him. We were both hurting and fighting all the time and we were both miserable, I was horrible to him and one day I thought he deserved better. He deserves someone who isn't horrible and deserves a chance at starting his own family I didn't want to be the one responsible for holding him back."

"Oh hon. Lorelai… I gotta tell ya, I love ya but sometimes you can be so blind. Lorelai, Luke lost his family, his parents died and his sister is a fruitcake, he was a lone hermit for a long time after his dad died, I know it's hard to believe but he was worse back then, he was a stone wall, just a machine working in his diner, not really talking to anyone…"

"You're right that is hard to believe considering how monosyllabic he is now"

"Right… he's actually a lot better than he was and do you know why that is?"

"No but I have a feeling you are going to tell me." Lorelai replied.

"Ok this is going to sound corny, but the day you walked into his diner, and then the day you first brought Rory in was the day the town noticed a difference in him. He tried to stay the grumpy Luke Danes but when he met you and you two became close friends, feeding you guys and repairing your house, it was like he had a purpose again. What I am saying is he has a family. He has you and Rory, no one else really matters, as long as he is with you two Gilmores he is happy." Sookie said sympathetically.

Lorelai sighed and nodded to herself, taking in what Sookie had said. "You're right… I know I've messed everything up, Sook. Rory and I aren't really talking. She's upset that I kicked Luke out and now he's left. Neither one of us is happy and I doubt Luke is too, this is not what I meant to do!"

"Well Rory and Luke do have a special bond that magnified while you were in the hospital." Sookie said.

"I know. I need advice from my best friend. Was I stupid?" Lorelai asked.

"No sweetie, stupid is the wrong word. You've been through a terrible ordeal and the way your relationship started wasn't on the best of terms either. It's understandable that you've not been yourself and your judgments were clouded." Sookie said softly.

"But…" Lorelai said sensing a but coming.

Sookie sighed. "But Luke is a great guy and everyone in this town knows he loves you. He will never want to go off and have another family because he loves you and Rory."

Lorelai nodded. "I've made a mistake haven't I?"

Sookie looked at her sympathetically. "Yeah sweetie you have but the good thing is you can try fix it. Maybe try and find him and just have a long talk with him. Tell him how you feel and let him tell you how he feels. You both…lost a child. Talk to him." She said softly.

Lorelai smiled weakly and hugged her friend. "Thanks Sook."

"Good luck." She smiled.

* * *

When Lorelai got home, she dumped her bag and paper work on the kitchen table and saw that she had a voicemail so she played it. _**"Hey Lor! So uh Rachel told me that she told you about the baby. I'm gonna be a dad again! How cool is that? But I was wondering if you could maybe do me a favour and tell Rory? I'll try ringing later.**_ _ **Bye."**_

Lorelai frowned. _Typical Chris! Leaving the hard things to me! No he has to tell her, it will only hurt if I do it and she's been hurt enough._

The phone rang again and she answered it.

"Hello?"

"Hey Lor!" Chris' voice said.

She frowned. "Chris."

"Did you get my message?"

"Yeh I did. Chris, I really think Rory needs to hear this from you."

"I know but I just….don't know how to tell her. I know I messed up with her but I want to make it right with this kid." He said.

"Chris…"

"Please Lor!"

"I can't deal with this right now Chris. I'm going through something myself and this really doesn't have anything to do with me. If you want Rory to know that she's getting a sibling, you need to tell her, if it comes from anyone else it will only hurt more, don't make me hurt my kid because of you Chris!" Lorelai said and then hung up. She threw the phone across the room and collapsed onto the sofa.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Rory returned home to find her mom crying on the sofa.

"Mom?" She said.

Lorelai wiped her tears away and that was when she realised that Rory had a tearstained face as well. "Hey hon, what's wrong?"

"Dad called…" Rory said quietly.

"Ah…" Lorelai said.

"You knew?" She asked.

"Rachel told me that other night. I'm sorry I didn't tell you but I thought you should hear it from your dad." She said.

Rory just nodded and slumped down next to her, Lorelai automatically grabbed a cushion placing it in her lap and pulling Rory's head onto the cushion.

"Are you ok?" Lorelai asked softly stroking her daughter's hair back.

"He…he said that he was going to be there for this kid and he wanted me to get to know the baby as well." She said quietly.

"Oh hon…"

"Why? I don't get it. Why does he suddenly decide to be a proper dad? He had lots of chances with me and he decided not to! I don't know why I am not good enough or what I did wrong" Rory cried.

Lorelai cradled her into a hug. "You did nothing wrong, you are an amazing kid, it's his fault for all this, but I just want you to know how sorry I am, you deserve a great father, I really am sorry. But Oh, look at you. You're incredible ok! And For what it's worth, you have me. I'm not going anywhere."

"Thanks mom"

* * *

The next day Rory once again helped Caesar deal with the loyal loonies. Except today she wasn't in best mood, after the phone call with her father yesterday she needed something or someone but wasn't exactly sure. Once Rory was sure she wasn't needed anymore when Larry came in for the afternoon shift, she took off her apron and hung it up.

"Are you sure you'll be ok now? I can stay a bit later." She said to Caesar.

"No I'm good now I think. Thanks for your help. Larry is here now and Luke will hopefully be bringing someone in soon. Otherwise I'll call him." Caesar said.

"Oh? So you have his number?" Rory asked.

"Um yeah. Well it's a number he gave me and the address of the place, he also said if he goes somewhere else he would call me and let me know. He said.

"Oh. Um could you possibly give me his number or address of where he is?" Rory asked hesitantly.

"Sure thing! Here." He said pulling out a piece of paper. "His number and the address." He smiled.

"Thanks." Rory smiled gratefully. "See you Caesar."

"Later Rory! And thanks again for your help."

Rory smiled at him and left. She then took out her phone and rang a number. "Tristan? Hey you up for a road trip somewhere?" She asked.

"Sure! Where are we going?"

"I don't know where it is exactly but your car has a GPS we could use. I'll let you know the address when you get here." She said.

"Ok. Be there in 30."

"Great, thanks Tristan!"

Tristan arrived shortly at the crap shack and Rory was waiting on the front porch got in the car straight away. "OK Here's the address." She said handing him the piece of paper."

"Oh I know where that is. I think it's near a cabin my dad has." He said. He looked at Rory. "Why are we going here?"

"It's where Luke is." She said quietly. "I…I just need to talk to him. My...um…my dad is having another kid..."

"Oh wow. Um are you ok with that?" Tristan asked. He didn't really know much about Rory's dad, just that she seemed a lot closer to Luke.

"I don't know. He just said he was determined not to mess up this time… and I don't know why but I just really need to talk to Luke." She said quietly.

Tristan nodded and began driving. They eventually got there after an hour and started looking around their surroundings, the place looked beautiful, _no wonder Luke sought out refuge here_. They went to the cabin door and knocked on it.

Luke opened it and looked surprised. "Rory?"

Rory just hugged him.

"Hey what's wrong? Is everything ok? Is your mom ok?" He asked worried.

"I…I just needed to talk to you." She said quietly into his chest.

* * *

 **So what do ya think? Not sure if that was worth waiting 2 weeks for, but if you be really nice and review and ill try get the next chapter up really quickly.**


	24. Chapter 24

So wasn't two day wait like I intended, but it's better than two weeks right?

* * *

 **Previously…**

" **I don't know. He just said he was determined not to mess up this time… and I don't know why but I just really need to talk to Luke." She said quietly.**

 **Tristan nodded and began driving. They eventually got there after an hour and started looking around their surroundings, the place looked beautiful,** _ **no wonder Luke sought out refuge here**_ **. They went to the cabin door and knocked on it.**

 **Luke opened it and looked surprised. "Rory?"**

 **Rory just hugged him.**

" **Hey what's wrong? Is everything OK? Is your mom OK?" He asked worried.**

" **I…I just needed to talk to you." She said quietly into his chest.**

"Hey hey Rory, you gotta tell me what's up?" Luke said softly while rubbing her back.

"Y…you didn't tell me you were leaving. You said you would always be there but you left."

Luke sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't know how to tell you, and it's not forever; just for a while just to clear my head." He said hugging her back. "How did you find me?"

"Caesar gave me the details. I'm sorry. I hope you don't mind." Rory said pulling away.

Luke's expression softened. "No of course I don't." He then saw Tristan standing there. "Tristan." He said holding out his hand.

"Hi." Tristan replied shaking it.

"How are you holding up?" Luke asked.

"I'm better now thanks to you, almost back to normal." He smiled.

"Good. That's good." He said, looking back to Rory. "Ok guys come on in" he said ushering them inside. "So I didn't bring any coffee since I thought it would just be me but I have tea or water if you want that."

"Nah I'm good, thanks though." Tristan said.

"Rory?"

"I'm fine thanks." Though her expression read nothing of the sort.

"Is everything OK? What's brought you here, I mean today, I've been gone over a week so something must have caused this upset?"

Rory sighed. "Rachel's pregnant… and it's dad's kid." She said quietly.

"Ah…that." Luke said.

"You knew?" Rory asked.

"Rachel came round before I left. She was trying to find your mom to tell her or ask for advice or something, so I had to tell her we broke up." He said. "How are you feeling about it?"

Rory just shrugged. "Numb and overwhelmed at the same time if that makes sense. I just hope he's a better dad to this kid than he was with me, though knowing him, since he used those words himself; who knows if he will stick by it."

Luke nodded, not really knowing what to say.

"When are you coming back?" Rory asked breaking the silence.

"I uh... I don't know. I just need some space away from the town and the rumor mill and other things..." he said vaguely. Of course things referred to Lorelai herself.

"But you are coming back right?" Rory asked worried.

Luke looked at her worried face and felt guilty. He nodded. "Eventually… I promise."

"Eventually?" Rory asked uneasily.

Luke sighed now having to retell the conversation he just had on the phone with his sister. He explained the relationship he had with her and how he could never say no when it came to helping her. He then explained he was going to return back to Stars Hollow in a few days' time but now he has been summoned to New York. Though that summoning was partly his sister but more so the sound of his father tugging on the strings of his moral compass.

"So I am heading to the city tomorrow to help my sister and nephew with who knows what and who knows how long." He said grumpily.

"Oh…" Rory said. "Well I think you need to call Cesar and tell him that… I think he misses you just as much as I do." She joked.

"Oh trust me I know, I think I will get him one of those 'I love NY' t-shirts, that might cheer him up."

The visual image of the robust Hispanic cook in one of those shirts made the trio chuckle momentarily before silence fell upon them once more.

"Mom misses you, you know." She said, finally heading into a direction she wanted and needed to discuss.

"Rory…" Luke started.

"Please just don't give up... You two can get through this! " She begged.

"Rory, it wasn't me, you know I love your mother more than anything right? This was her, she thought it would be for the best, I have no idea how she came to that conclusion, but we are talking about Lorelai and her logic is sketchy at best."

"Exactly but now Mom regrets what she's done! She wishes she could take it all back, but you've been gone so she couldn't."

"W…what?! S…She said that?" Luke asked and Rory nodded. He had escaped to his traditional hideaway to clear his head and partially drink away some sorrows but this revelation has undone all he achieved in the past week.

When no one had anything left to say, Tristan put a hand on his girlfriend's shoulder. "Rory, we should get going. It's getting late, we don't want your mom freaking out where you are."

Rory nodded and hugged Luke again. "Just please think about what I said." She requested.

Luke nodded and hugged her back. Rory and Tristan then walked back to the car.

As she opened the car door Luke called out "Hey Rory!"

Rory turned around. "Yeah?"

"Call me OK? Anytime you want. Especially when you feel like you can't go to anyone else." He said.

Rory smiled and nodded. Luke then watched them drive off.

* * *

Rory managed to get home within time without raising any suspicion. When she walked in she found her mom on the sofa crying, it was starting to become a usual occurrence, which to be honest scared Rory. "Mom? Are you OK? What's wrong?"

"I've messed everything up haven't I? I hurt Luke and I hurt you and now you hate me. I wish I could undo it and make everything fine again but I can't and I am just so sorry." She said.

"Mom, I don't hate you. I could never hate you." Rory said quietly. "I…I just miss Luke, that's all."

"Me too." She said sadly.

Rory looked at her. "Well why don't you do something about it then? Talk to him!"

"I would if I could, but I don't know where he is. He doesn't even have a cell phone." She said.

Rory debated whether not to tell her mom of her recent adventure, but looking at the distraught women in front of her and knowing she is remorseful of her actions, she decided it would be best to confess. "I do." she uttered.

Lorelai looked up. "What?"

"He left a number, I think it's to a cell phone and he also left an address with Caesar. He went to his dad's cabin that's a couple of hours away. I've just been to see him. Tristan drove me. I just needed to talk to him. After I heard about dad, I needed to talk to someone who isn't part of the situation and I knew Luke would listen. I'm sorry I didn't tell you mom." She said quietly.

"Rory, I wish you would stop keeping things from me. I should know where you are. You can't just go off on these drives without telling me. This isn't you! I know things have been shaky around here recently and that's my fault, I get that, but we always tell each other everything, we don't keep secrets and you certainly don't take spontaneous road trips without me, especially since you're wearing my sweater." Lorelai said.

"I'm sorry. I just had to see him…" Rory said quietly.

Lorelai sighed. "I know hon, its fine but next time, tell me OK? I'm not going to stop you seeing Luke, you know that, but I would like to know when you are, especially if it means leaving town."

Rory nodded. She then took a piece of paper out of her pocket and gave it to her mom. "Call him. He misses you." She said. She kissed her mom on the cheek and went to her room.

Lorelai looked at the number on the card. She stared at it for minutes, contemplating what exactly she was going to say to him or if she was going to say anything. She finally then reached for her the phone.

Lorelai rang Luke's number, her hands were shaking. Would Luke even want to talk to her? She held her breath while it was ringing but it went to voicemail. _Of course Luke is probably asleep, the man acts like a farmer with his sleeping rituals. I guess I'll just leave a message, hoping for the best._

She heard the beep and took a deep breath. "Hey uh Luke… It's me… Lorelai. So uh… Rory gave me your number, she told me she went to see you. I don't even know if you want to talk to me, I know I treated you so badly and I…I'm so sorry Luke. You didn't deserve that and I know I don't deserve you… but uh…. I had a long talk with my parents, and Sookie… and Rachel surprisingly enough, and they all told me that I should talk to you... I mean I wanted to, they just convinced me to actually do it. Surprisingly enough, they were very much in your corner. Which is good." She gave a weak laugh. "Um I here's the thing, why I called… I think… no… I know, I made a huge mistake… about you and me… about us. Just give me a call please when you get this. If you still want to talk to me, that is… because I uh… miss you… and I love you, OK, thanks. Bye Luke." She said. She hung up and sighed and snuggled back into the sofa wondering if she did the right thing calling him.

* * *

The next day, Luke woke up and saw that he had missed a call and that he had a voice message. He listened to it and he froze when he heard Lorelai's voice. She sounded upset but regretful. She says she made a huge mistake, did that mean what he thought it meant? She said she loves him and misses him. Could this mean hope for the two of them? _It would be cruel if she said that and didn't mean it._

He slowly dialed her number and was about to press call when his phone started ringing. He sighed and answered it.

"What's up Liz?" He said.

"Hey Big Brother… So I was wondering if Jess could come to you now." She said.

"What? I thought I was joining you guys in a few days to talk things over."

"I know but I think it would be best if he came to you… now. Please Luke. I can't cope with him at the moment."

Luke frowned. "And you think I can!? You have no idea what has been going on with me recently… Geez, you're unbelievable, you know that right? When things get hard you just bail. Fine, send him now. Do whatever!" He said.

"Good… because he already on a bus now."

He sighed and angrily hung up the phone without saying bye to his sister. He wasn't in the mood to call Lorelai now.

* * *

Jess arrived that afternoon with a bag of his stuff along with a black eye.

"Hey Jess." Luke greeted

"Uncle Luke." Jess greeted back.

"Come on in. You can have that room till we head out, so just dump your bag in there." He said.

Jess nodded and emptied all his things out onto the bed.

"So… what happened?" Luke asked.

"Nothing."

"Jess…" he prompted

"Nothing happened. Liz was just being herself. She's got a new boyfriend so she couldn't be bothered with me." Jess shrugged.

Luke's blood boiled. "Right… and the eye?"

"Let's just call it bonding with the new potential step-father."

"Wait... he did that to you, and Liz let that happen, then sent you to me? What the hell! I'm sorry about that."

"Doesn't make a difference to me. I hated it there anyway." He shrugged.

Luke looked at him. "Why?"

"Just wasn't very homely, Liz isn't exactly the Donna-Reed-Martha-Stewart type." He said sarcastically. "So what about you? How come you're out here? Don't you live in Stars Hollow?"

"Yeah… I just came out here to get away for a bit. For some peace and quiet." Luke said.

"Huh…" Jess replied.

Luke sighed. "Things weren't great. My um girlfriend…well ex-girlfriend now… I dunno it's complicated I guess… so I just needed to get away, you'll see why when we get there."

"Ah trouble in paradise, and the man runs to his personal island of misfit toys… that's so cliche"

"It's not like that!"

Jess said nothing, only giving his uncle a look indicating to continue.

"Well she… she um lost our baby a few weeks ago." He said quietly.

Jess saw the pain in his uncle's face and suddenly felt bad about the cliche comment. "Sorry. I didn't know."

"Yeah… Lorelai... that's her name…well she didn't take it too well, none of us did but she somehow got it into her head that I deserved better and that I deserved someone who could give me a family." Luke sighed.

"That blows."

"Tell me about it." Luke said. "And then there's her daughter as well…"

"She has a daughter?"

"Yeah. Rory. She's your age. You'd like her. She loves reading as well." Luke said.

"Wait… how old is this woman?"

"Lorelai is only 33… yeah yeah I know she was a teen mom, but she's nothing like Liz, so no judging." Luke said after reading Jess's face knowing he was doing the math.

"Hey man, I'm not judging… So it was complicated?" Jess repeated his uncle's earlier statement.

Luke nodded.

"You were close to this Rory?" He guessed.

"Yeah still am sort of… earlier this year, Lorelai got into a car accident, well she was hit by a car. Crazy old drunk driver ran her down on the street. She was in a coma for over a month. I stayed and looked after Rory during that time." He said sadly, thinking over that awful time when he thought Lorelai was never going to wake up.

"Wow… so it's been a shit year for old butch Danes" Jess said.

"First of all… watch your language. Second… never call me that. And third… yeah it really has. He finally confesses while adjusting his cap.

"And now you're stuck with me…" Jess sighed.

"You know that's not a bad thing, if that's what you think I am thinking. I am glad you're coming with me, I mean I hate the way Liz has dealt with it but maybe this will be alright for the both of us. Work with me and I'll do my best to do what I can do for you, how does that sound?"

"Yeah alright, I guess…"

* * *

Later that evening, Luke plucked up the courage to call Lorelai while Jess was outside reading.

"Luke?" She answered eagerly without saying hello.

"Hi..."

Lorelai took a breath. "Oh Luke I'm so sorry…I was horrible to you!"

Luke sighed. "It's fine. It was understandable under the circumstances. I'm not going to lie and say I wasn't hurt because I was. But I sort of understand your logic. Even though you were wrong."

"Rory hates me…" Lorelai said sadly.

"She doesn't hate you. She could never hate you." Luke said.

"She does. You should have seen her Luke. We had a big fight."

Luke sighed. "I'm sorry. I never wanted to cause a fight between you two."

"Yeah well she said she didn't hate me but I know a part of her does, and you hate me, and to be honest I'm kind of hating myself right now."

"Well If Rory says she doesn't hate you, then she doesn't hate you… and for the record I don't hate you either, we were just both hurting and needed some time I guess."

"Yeah…" she agreed. Silenced fell over the phone line, Lorelai desperately wanted to ask questions, so she began with her first one. "When are you coming back? Please say you are." Lorelai begged.

"I…I don't know. I've got some things to sort out but soon." He said. He saw Jess come in. "Look I have to go."

"Luke?"

"Yeah?"

"I really am sorry."

He sighed. "I know. We can talk about all of this later. Bye Lorelai."

"Bye…" she said sadly.

Lorelai hung up the phone and wiped away her tears. Rory came in. "Did you just say Luke? Did you talk to Luke?" She asked.

Lorelai nodded. "I think he hates me too though…"

"Mom…" Rory said sitting next to her and giving her a hug. "He loves you. He could never hate you. What did he say?"

"Well he did actually say he didn't hate me but he also said he was hurt by what I did and that he had things to sort out before he came back. He was very vague. He just said he'd be back soon." She said. "Oh hon, I'm sorry. I've messed up everything in our family."

Rory hugged her. "It's OK mom. Everything will be OK. I'm sure of it. And if it's any consolation he did mention something about going to New York to sort out things with his sister and nephew so maybe that's what he meant by 'stuff'."

* * *

A few more days had passed and Luke still hadn't come back. Lorelai was losing hope. She was getting back to her normal self. She was still working at the inn to keep her busy but actually going to the inn staying in her office; it was a start at least. Rory was still helping out at the diner as she enjoyed working there and she had also started her second year at Chilton.

Luke decided to stay at the cabin a few more days to give Jess time to relax from his mother's crazy life even though he was missing a day or two of the first week of the school year. When he did finally return, it was late in the evening after the diner had closed.

The next mid-morning while Rory was at school, Lorelai was walking across the square, headed to Weston's for some average tasting coffee when she saw that familiar green truck outside the diner and her heart started beating faster when she saw Luke getting out of it. She didn't mean to rush over as quickly as she did, her body just went on auto pilot and next thing she knew they were only feet away from one another.

"Hey Luke…" She breathed out, happy to see him but scared he was going to ignore her or turn the other way.

Luke froze at the sound of her voice and turned round and was surprised to see her. They looked at each other for a minute not knowing how the other might react, before Lorelai rushed and put her arms round his neck and hugged him. Luke was caught off guard by this action he didn't know if he was ready to have her back in his arms but he missed it either way, eventually his arms closed around her body and it felt like he was truly home.

"I've missed you." She mumbled into his shoulder.

"I've missed you too." Luke admitted.

"Can we talk?"

"Yeah… come on in, we will go upstairs.

* * *

 **Ergh so was that too short? Too boring? Let me know. xx**


	25. Chapter 25

Sorry Sorry Sorry, its been a blah time... and I wasn't completely motivated with only 5 reviews. (Not that I am not grateful for them but still...)

* * *

" **Hey Luke…" She breathed out, happy to see him but scared he was going to ignore her or turn the other way.**

 **Luke froze at the sound of her voice and turned round and was surprised to see her. They looked at each other for a minute not knowing how the other might react, before Lorelai rushed and put her arms round his neck and hugged him. Luke was caught off guard by this action he didn't know if he was ready to have her back in his arms but he missed it either way, eventually his arms closed around her body and it felt like he was truly home.**

" **I've missed you." She mumbled into his shoulder.**

" **I've missed you too." Luke admitted.**

" **Can we talk?"**

" **Yeah… come on in, we will go upstairs."**

At that moment Jess made himself known to Lorelai as he came around to their side of the truck after gathering some of the supplies from the truck bed. "Hey Luke stop staring at your pretty reflection and come help carry –" he stopped when he saw Lorelai and the serious yet worried faces the two had on. "Oh… uh hi…"

"Hi…" Lorelai replied looking at Luke for an explanation.

"Um Lorelai, this is my nephew Jess. Jess this is Lorelai. We were just about to head upstairs to talk…"

"Ok yeah, Um I'll go explore the town, I don't want to interrupt, but what about this stuff."

"Just leave it there we can get it later."

"Won't it get stolen?" Jess asked having come from the dodgy side of Manhattan.

Both Luke and Lorelai snorted at the possibility in this town. "There might be a 5% chance of that happening, but there's no point, they'll get caught, the sooner you learn about this town the better." Luke said.

"Uh-huh… I'll just leave you to it."

"It's nice to meet you." Lorelai smiled at him.

"Yeah you too." Jess nodded.

Luke nodded and took some of their bought items and watched him wander off grabbing the book out of his back pocket. He looked back at Lorelai. "Um, maybe we should go the back way to avoid the gossips" He said awkwardly.

Lorelai looked in at the packed diner. "Yeah good idea."

Luke took her round the back entrance and then led her up the stairs to his apartment. He put the bags down by the door and they stood in his kitchen area awkwardly for a minute. "Would you uh… like some coffee?" He asked.

"Do you have to ask?" She said with a nervous laugh. _I hate this, I hate how awkward this is._

Luke gave a slight smirk and made some for her and a tea for himself. He had kept some coffee in the apartment because he never knew a moment like this would happen, and he liked the reminder. "Should we...um..." He said gesturing to the sofa.

"Yeah sitting's good." Lorelai said and they both sat down taking a sip of their drinks since no one was speaking. Lorelai sighed, breaking the silence. "Luke, I'm so sorry…" She said.

"I know you are." He said quietly.

"I treated you horribly and all you were doing was just making sure I was ok, and I forgot you were hurting too. I'm a terrible person…".

Luke shook his head. "You're not a terrible person. You were hurting and people who hurt take it out at the person closest to them. It couldn't be Rory, and Sookie has big knives, so it was me." He said.

"Yeah… Rory was so upset…" Lorelai said sadly. "We went for dinner at my parents' house the day you left town and we had a huge fight."

"You and Rory?" Luke asked.

Lorelai nodded. "I told my parents we had broken up and Rory didn't like that wording. She suddenly interrupted saying that I broke up with you and that it wasn't mutual… which is true I guess" She sighed. "Why didn't I realise how this was affecting her as well?" She said.

"You couldn't have known… But I'm sorry." Luke said. "I never wanted to come between you and Rory."

Lorelai shook her head. "No. No way. You do not get to say sorry. You have absolutely nothing to be sorry about. It was all me." She said refusing his apology.

"Then why did you push me away?" Luke asked quietly.

"I don't know. I was just thinking about myself, how selfish is that? I was in such a bad place and I didn't want anyone's help, I was throwing a pity party for one. Then we were yelling a lot and I thought you deserved better. You deserve to be happy and to be with someone who could give you a family and wouldn't be such a bitch to you." She tried to explain. "I just thought that you wouldn't want me or need me, that I am too much work." She looked up at him. "I didn't even think about how it would be affecting you. I'm so sorry."

"Lorelai, when you told me you were pregnant, I was so happy." Luke admitted. "I was having a child with the woman I loved. When we lost it, I was devastated…" He said quietly. He looked at Lorelai who had tears rolling down her cheeks. He gently wiped them away with his thumbs. "But you were still the woman I loved. That was never going to change and still never is. And another thing… I did have a family. I had you and Rory, you're my family, I know I don't talk about this stuff a lot but it's true, you two are my family." He said. "If that's what it's meant to be in the future, if it's meant to just be us three with maybe the addition of Jess than that's good enough for me, I will be just as happy. I would be lying if I said I wouldn't like a kid but you and Rory mean so much to me. I wouldn't ever think about looking elsewhere. Ever." He said sincerely.

Lorelai nodded. "I know. That's what everyone's been telling me. Along with basically saying how stupid I've been."

Luke shook his head. "You were hurting… take it from a guy who knows; when you hurt like that you get tunnel vision."

"But you were hurting too! You just said you were devastated." Lorelai insisted. She sighed. "I had a long talk with my parents' the other day. Surprisingly they were very much in your corner." She gave a weak laugh.

Luke chuckled. "First time for everything I suppose…"

"My mom was telling me how she had several miscarriages before me." Lorelai said sadly. "They thought they wouldn't be able to have kids. Then suddenly I came along. My mom told me how she pushed my dad away like I've done with you. Apparently they spent weeks not talking to each other about how they were feeling." She said.

"Wow…" Luke was surprised.

"Yeah it was, no wonder they're disappointed in me since I was apparently this miracle child." She said and proceeded to tell the whole story to Luke from what her parents told her.

* * *

Elsewhere in the town, Jess was at Dooses' he had spent a good amount of time in there looking at the limited stock on the shelf, he then went to the magazine rack and started flipping through a magazine when a bearded man came over to him.

"Young man, what are you doing?" He asked.

"Nothing." Jess replied.

"Exactly, you are loitering!" Taylor said.

"I'm not, I'm just looking... Consider it a mystery shopper audit…"

Taylor said nothing and crossed his arms trying to give him a menacing stare which wasn't all that menacing.

"What? I am just minding my own business, do you think I'm going to steal something or what?" Jess frowned.

"If you're not going to buy anything, please leave." Taylor said.

"Like I said I'm just looking, you know? Weighing in on my choices, I'm very picky on my recreational reading. How about I get your opinion? Busty Babes or Hot Rod Weekly, which do you prefer? No why am I asking you, you look like a Sweater Knit monthly kind of guy, am I right? But of course you are." He said condescendingly.

"You need to leave!" Taylor said agitated.

"Says who?"

"Says me, and I am the proprietor of this establishment and you are disturbing the real paying customers."

Jess smirked. "What paying customers? There's me and two other people in here but I don't see them being harassed, it was all fine and dandy until you disturbed me of choosing my very important magazine. Not to mention don't I have every right to be here?"

Before Taylor could counter argue, a third person joined in on the conversation. "Hey, move it." A tall floppy haired guy said.  
"Oh goody here comes G.I Joe to save the day. What's it to you?" Jess retorted.

"I work here, he owns the place, and we both want you to leave so move it!" Dean snapped, not liking the look at the guy.

Just then, Miss Patty came up to them before a punch-up broke out, not that she would mind but then she'd never hear the end of it from Taylor, plus she wanted to know who this newcomer was. "Now Taylor, give the boy a break, I'm sure he was just looking at magazines to purchase from you and young dean. Leave the boy alone… this handsome specimen of a boy, what's your name honey." She flirted.

Jess was completely pissed off, freaked out and slightly repulsed by these people and he had only been here less than a day. "This town is crazy." Jess muttered. "Fine I'm going!" He exclaimed and stormed out the shop. _So this is why Luke goes to the cabin, I don't blame him… should be a blast living here, in a one bedroom apartment that use to be an office… oh yeah nice and cosy, it's a friggen happy joy-joy life for me._

* * *

"That must have been hard for them..." Luke concurred once Lorelai finished her story about her parents.

Lorelai nodded. "They never told me, I mean it's not the sort of thing you tell your kid but still. But she wanted me to know that they eventually realised they needed each other and loved each other. She had to stop pushing him away and she did. They started talking again and… well… they're still together…"

"And after this you realised you did the wrong thing as well?" Luke asked tentatively.

Lorelai nodded. "Sort of… Rory and I haven't been great since you'd left, like I said her outburst took me by surprise. But the talk with my parents definitely opened my eyes. I then spoke to Sookie as well who pretty much told me to talk to you and so did Rachel. I realised I'd messed up and I missed you and wanted to talk to you so badly but I didn't know where you'd gone or if you were coming back. I thought I'd blown it." She admitted. "Rory came back after visiting you and gave me your number. I was so scared calling you. I was so sure you'd hate me and never wanted to speak to me again." She looked down at her fidgeting hands not wanting to see disappointment in his eyes.

"I'm not going to lie and say I wasn't angry at you because I was. You just being unreasonable and stubborn and I felt like you wouldn't even listen to me. You told me I didn't know how you felt but I did. It was my kid too, I know I didn't get to feel the physical pain, but still hurt me to see you in that kind of agony and then the emotional pain of losing the baby together hurt even more." He said, taking a pause. "I was so surprised when you told me it was over. It was like my whole life was over, I felt like I had been winded and I couldn't breathe. I'd lost my kid, then I lost you. I sat there in the house for a bit but I realised I wouldn't be able to change your mind so I got up and left, maybe giving you space, but then I saw Rory…" He stopped, not knowing whether Lorelai knew that Rory had heard their conversation that night.

Lorelai frowned. "Rory?" She said. She then gasped. "Oh my god, she heard everything didn't she?"

Luke nodded. "Yeah she had just come home and was standing by the door." He said, looking pained. "She begged me not to go. It hurt me so much to see her like that but I knew I had to respect your decision."

"Wow…" Lorelai said.

"I tried to carry on as normal at the diner. But Rory came to help one day and it felt like old times. We were actually joking and smiling. We forgot just for a split second what had happened. That was the day you went to your parents' for dinner." He said.

Lorelai nodded. "Yeah Rory told me she'd been to see you after our fight."

"After Rory had left, Rachel came to see me, she was trying to find you." Luke said.

"So she told you?" Lorelai asked.

Luke nodded. "She was asking me where you were because she wanted to tell you first, she wanted advice or something I dunno. I had to tell her that we had broken up, but I didn't say why." He said. "She told me then."

"Oh she was waiting for me after dinner. She was on our front porch. We'd literally just seen you leave. Rory was so angry at me for not stopping you..."

"I only decided to leave after Rachel had been to see me. All the busybodies from the town wanted to know what was going on and I got sick of it. I had to get away." Luke said. "I didn't mean to not tell Rory, it just happened and then I didn't want to say goodbye again. It was too hard."

Lorelai nodded. "She knows."

Luke brushed his hands through his hair and adjusted his baseball cap. "I then went to my family cabin in the woods. I was there for about a week and then I was going to meet up with my sister and Jess later on because she had called me saying she couldn't handle him anymore and needed my help and same old story really. But before I knew it, Rory was at the door with Tristan. She told me her dad had told her about Rachel, and she was upset."

Lorelai nodded. "He asked me to tell her but I told him she had to hear it from him."

"She deserved to hear it from him." Luke said. "Anyway, then she left and I went to bed and the next morning I saw that I had a voicemail from you." He looked at her. "Sorry I didn't ring you straight away. I got this phone call from Liz saying that she couldn't cope with Jess so she was sending him to me that day, she had put him on a bus before I had even said yes. I was angry at her so I wasn't in the right mood to ring you." He said.

"You don't need to explain." Lorelai said softly.

Luke sighed. "Well that's everything really. Jess came, we spent some time together. Jess didn't want to go home to face his mom's boyfriend and I wasn't keen on knowing if he'd be getting another black eye from the jerk so I suggested he come and stay with me."

Lorelai smiled. "That's nice of you."

"Liz always does this. She puts her guys first instead of Jess and a lot of those guys are the jackasses of society… Hence the black eye." Luke grimaced.

"Poor Jess." Lorelai said. "Soo… what now?"

They took a minute to collect their thoughts. Luke spoke first. "I need to know that you won't just push me away again, Lorelai." He said quietly. "I can't go through this again. It nearly broke me." He admitted.

Lorelai felt awful. "I'm so sorry. I was so so so messed up. I made a huge mistake. You're the best thing that ever happened to me, well apart from Rory. I'm not going to go back to that messed up place, I promise."

"I want to believe you." Luke said quietly. "But what if something awful like this happens again? I'm not saying it will but you could go back to that place. I'd be devastated if you pushed me away again and I don't want Rory to have to go through this again either." He said.

"I swear to you, I won't let this happen again." She said sincerely. "I love you so much."

"I love you too." Luke said. "We need to make an agreement that if we ever feel like we're withdrawing into our shells, we talk to each other. We tell each other how we feel and let each other in. I'm sure we will fight and argue but we need to come back to each other at the end of the day because Lorelai, I mean this when I say this, you're it for me."

Lorelai nodded. "I promise. You're it for me too." She said quietly. "Please say we're going to be ok…"

Luke put his arms round her and hugged her tightly. "We're going to be ok." He said softly.

They both embraced each other for a while, just taking comfort that they had each other back.

* * *

Meanwhile, Jess was wandering around Stars Hollow, trying to kill time and clearing his head after the verbal attack of 'dip-faces of small-town America'. He knew that Luke and Lorelai would need time to talk and he didn't want to interrupt him, he could tell that Lorelai was more than just a fling for his uncle. On his walk, he suddenly spotted a book store. He smiled. _Exactly what I need!_ He thought. He went inside and started to browse the rows of books. He was going round a corner of one of the shelves when a brunette girl bumped into him.

"Oh, sorry!" She said.

"No problem." He replied.

"I wasn't looking where I was going. I have about 45 minutes before I have to go to the diner down the road to help out so I thought I'd pop in here to look at the sales quickly." She smiled at him.

"So you're hooked on phonics as well then?" Jess asked.

"Yeah! I love reading! How about you?"

"It's alright." He shrugged it off.

"So are you new around here? I haven't seen you before." She asked.

"Yeah, got here last night. I'm Jess. I'm staying with my uncle."

"Your uncle?" She asked. She then suddenly looked excited. "Luke?"

"That's him." Jess said. "You're Rory, right?"

Rory was surprised. "How'd ya know?"

"Luke told me about you. Told me you liked reading. When you said you were going to help out at the diner, I put two and two together." He said.

"Quite a detective, aren't you?" Rory smiled.

"I'd like to think so." Jess replied.

"So Luke's back then?"

"Yeah, he's up in his apartment talking to, I'm assuming Lorelai's your mom?" He said.

Rory grinned. "They're talking? Really?" She said excitedly.

Jess smirked. "OK you're 'acting-like-a-puppy-excited' but yeah. I thought I'd leave them to it; seems like they need the privacy so I came to explore the town. I was starting to think this was the only sane place but I guess I'd have to look again."

"Hey!" Rory said indignantly.

Jess chuckled.

"I better go. Are you staying for a while?" Rory asked.

"I hope so, I kind of have nowhere else to go."

"Great, I guess I'll see you around then!" She grinned. "Bye Jess!"

"Bye." Jess smirked watching he leave the store.

* * *

Rory decided to go home first as she didn't want to interrupt her mom and Luke and she was guessing Luke would have the diner sorted, She was hoping Lorelai would come home before she had to go to the diner. She got on with some reading. 50 minutes passed quickly and she was getting impatient. Her mom still hadn't appeared so she decided it was time to go to the diner. She got there and saw her mom sat at the counter with Luke behind it. She frowned and opened the door.

"Seriously? You're just sitting here? I've been at home trying to kill time, waiting for you to get home!" Rory exclaimed in mock annoyance.

Lorelai turned round and Rory could immediately see the difference in her. "Sorry." She smiled sheepishly.

"Soooooo?" She questioned, looking between them

"Sooooo how was your day?" Lorelai smirked knowing how antsy her daughter was.

"MOM!"

"Ok ok, fine well a lot has happened and I messed up big time but...I think..." Lorelai said, glancing at Luke who gave her a smile. "...that we're back together, right Luke? I am not actually sure, we didn't actually discuss those words."

Luke had heard her and realised she was right. He marched around the counter, pulled Lorelai onto her feet and embrace her in a forceful but passionate kiss. "Does that answer your question?" he casually said while returning to his side of the counter.

"Yes…" she whispered uneasily, she was in slight shock of Luke's sudden production of PDA.

"We're going to take it one day at the time." he told Rory, it's what they both agreed on.

Rory squealed and hugged her mom and then ran behind the counter to hug Luke too, who gladly accepted it. "I'm so happy for you!"

Lorelai and Luke shared a look and smiled at each other. Things were going to be ok and it felt good. Both of them were the happiest they'd been for a long time.

* * *

 **So hey Jess... btw this won't turn into a Lit fic. Just telling you now.**

 **Please let me know what you think... me thinks happier times are coming.**


	26. Chapter 26

Sorry for the delay people. I was attempting to sort out my life... attempting being the key word. Then I was sad because I had to turn down an opportunity at WETA DIGITAL! (Google it for those who don't know it) even though that's where I want to be. But no matter, I finally landed a job after 6 months and 400 applications later (No that isn't an exaggeration), so with full time work, updates may be iffy, which I am sorry for in advanced.

* * *

 **Previously…**

" **...we're back together, right Luke? I am not actually sure, we didn't actually discuss those words."**

 **Luke had heard her and realized she was right. He marched around the counter, pulled Lorelai onto her feet and embrace her in a forceful but passionate kiss. "Does that answer your question?" he casually said while returning to his side of the counter.**

" **Yes…" she whispered uneasily, she was in slight shock of Luke's sudden production of PDA.**

" **We're going to take it one day at the time." he told Rory, it's what they both agreed on.**

 **Rory squealed and hugged her mom and then ran behind the counter to hug Luke too, who gladly accepted it. "I'm so happy for you!"**

 **Lorelai and Luke shared a look and smiled at each other. Things were going to be OK and it felt good. Both of them were the happiest they'd been for a long time.**

The trio sat in the diner enjoying 'family time' by chatting and eating for a while until Jess came in. The teen was fed up with the town and had only been there less than 24 hours. First the incident in Doose's market, then the bookstore owner had rushed him out so he could take his lunch break which mainly included going to feed his pet ferret. After that a screechy plump woman accompanied by a tall lanky man and the creepy voluptuous woman from the market wanting to know all about him and his business of being in town, then a weird scrawny dude asked him a bunch of questions offering all sorts of services because apparently he has had 256 jobs.

Jess isn't a complicated guy, he just wants to be left alone to read Hemingway for the thousandth time in peace. Once he figured that was enough crazy time for a day he went to check if Luke was back downstairs. _Oh thank fuck! A sane person who knows to leave me alone!_ He thought finally entering the diner.

"Oh hey Jess."

"Hey… So I take it you guys are done talking?" he asked abruptly.

"Uh yeah we are … what's wrong?"

"This town is CRAZY! Don't people just ignore their neighbor's like every other goddamn town in this country?"

This made the Gilmore Girls giggle. "Nope, and you're fresh meat." Said Rory.

"Oh Rory, this is my nephew Jess. Jess this is Rory." Luke said introducing the pair.

"I know. We've met already." Rory smiled.

"You did?" Lorelai interjected.

"Yep in the bookshop." Rory said.

"Oh right, OK then." Luke said.

Jess just nodded. "Well I'm going to go upstairs and unpack… not that there is much to unpack, did Liz say when she was sending my stuff?"

"It should be here in about a week." Luke said.

"Great" Jess replied sarcastically and went upstairs.

During this exchange Lorelai was lost in thought, her brain mulling over the talk she just had had with Luke and the information she had learnt about Jess also. She then looked at Luke.

"What?" Luke asked finally noticing her once again.

"Uhh… Nothing…it's crazy." Lorelai shrugged off. "I mean we just got back together, it's too soon…"

"What's too soon?" Luke asked.

Lorelai looked at him shyly. "I was kind of hoping you'd like to move back in. I mean most of your stuff is still there anyway, it's almost like you didn't move out, you just went away… but never mind let's not talk about that."

"Really? You want me to come back to your place?" Luke asked surprised.

"Yeah but I understand if you don't. I mean we did agree we would take this slowly." Lorelai said.

"Look, honestly, I'd love to but I've got Jess to consider now." Luke said. "I can't leave him alone here. It's not fair on him."

"Well why doesn't he come too?" Lorelai asked.

"What? Are you serious?" Luke asked.

"Yeah I mean he is your family"

"Wow um I don't know what to say. You don't have to do this."

"I want to." Lorelai smiled.

"But where will he sleep, no offense but your couch is the worst thing I have ever slept on, and I have slept on the ground… in the woods!"

"I know you have mister nature-boy, and I so don't want to go into 'you sleeping on the couch' conversation again. But no my suggestion is… well… uh… we do now have an empty room upstairs... It's pretty small but we could make it work."

"Oh Lorelai…" he said softly. "I… I can't ask you to do that, there is plans for that room."

"Well plans change, it will be fine trust me..."

"But what if something comes along, something like what that room was intended for?"

"Don't think about that, that's a possibility in the future but Jess is here now"

"But he's my family my responsibility"

"No Luke remember you're my family so that makes him family too, besides I owe you for looking after Rory while I was having my Princess Aurora moment."

"Princess who? –"

"Um hi, hello!" Rory interrupted them. "Remember me? Don't I have a say in this?"

"Exactly! Doesn't Rory get a say in this?"

Lorelai's face fell. "You don't want this?" Lorelai asked

Rory grinned. "Yeah I want it. I just felt left out."

Lorelai threw a fry at her. "Evil!"

Rory grinned. "Sorry!"

"What do you really think Rory? Living with not just this crazy woman but two guys also?" Luke asked.

"Now before you answer that question butch Danes delightfully worded, think of who birthed you and fed you?" Lorelai said

"Well technically Luke fed me."

"But I gave you life."

"And Luke gives me coffee, which you know in the Lorelai handbook practically is Life itself."

"Oi vey, you two are a lot of work… So you'd really be OK with this? Both of you?" Luke asked.

"Absolutely!" Lorelai smiled.

"Yep… Just train him to keep the toilet seat down." Rory smiled.

"OK well I guess I should go talk to Jess then." Luke said.

"OK well we'll wait at home. Let me know, yeah? And if he's cool with it you guys can move in when you want or when his stuff gets here."

Luke nodded. Lorelai smiled and leaned over the counter and gave him a kiss.

Rory smiled and watched as Luke headed towards the stairs. "Hey Luke?"

Luke turned round.

"I'm glad you're back." She smiled.

Luke smiled back. "Me too."

* * *

When Luke headed upstairs and found Jess on the sofa reading. "Hey..."

"Hey..." Jess said. "So you and Lorelai…?"

"Yeah we're good." Luke smiled.

"Good. And you're happy?" Jess checked.

"I am yeah." Luke said.

Jess nodded. "Good."

Luke stood there awkwardly for a bit before sitting down on the sofa next to him. "Um Jess, there's something I want to talk to you about..."

"OK." Jess said.

"Well you know, before everything happened, Lorelai and I were… um... living together at her house." Luke said.

"Yeah well I kind of assumed that considering you were having a baby together..." Jess said. He saw his uncle's pained look at the mention of the baby. "Sorry…I didn't think..."

Luke shook his head. "No it's fine. The thing is, Lorelai wants me to move back in with them…"

"Oh..." Jess said. "So I guess you're sending me back to Liz?" He guessed.

"What, no!" Luke said. "I mentioned it because, well actually Lorelai wants you to move in too." He said tentatively.

Jess was surprised. "Really?"

Luke nodded. "You're part of the family, Jess. She's already said you can have the room we already emptied out for the... uh… Anyway I mean it won't be very big but it'll be your own space, I'm sure you don't share this place with me for too long, so what do you say?"

"OK, beats sleeping on a sofa..." Jess muttered.

"What? You sleep on a sofa?" Luke asked shocked.

Jess shrugged. "Liz always has people staying overnight, or she would have parties and her guests would pass out in my bed, so I just sleep on the sofa most of the time."

Luke was shocked and angry at his sister. "Well you will definitely have your own room at Lorelai's. Where you can shut the door and all that. Now there is a request, I am sure she was just joking with this part, but I kind of agree with it and because my dad taught me that whenever living with more than one woman, always put the seat down, is that cool with you?" He said.

"Yeah sure. I don't mind." Jess shrugged.

"OK good. That's good. Well she said we can head around there tonight if you want, and we can just ask the delivery guys to take the new bed to their place, and properly move you in when your mom sends your stuff." Luke said.

"Yeah sure, makes no difference to me." Jess shrugged getting up and putting his very few belongings in his bag.

"By the way, Rory has a boyfriend so don't even think about doing anything. He's a good guy and he's helped her through a lot." Luke warned.

Jess smirked. "I wouldn't dream of it Uncle Luke."

Luke rolled his eyes and packed some of his things as well and then they headed over to the Crap Shack.

* * *

A couple of days later, Luke was at the diner waiting for Jess to come in after school, when suddenly Taylor came bursting in. "Luke!"

"What do you want Taylor?" He growled.

"The money we raised for the bridge has gone missing!" He exclaimed.

"And why's that's my problem how?" Luke said.

"I asked witnesses, it was your hoodlum of a nephew!" Taylor exclaimed.

"What?" Luke exclaimed angrily. "Taylor, you can't make accusations with that without actual proof! Do you have proof? Who were these witnesses?"

"Mrs Cassini said she saw a young man with dark hair take the money."

"Oh right right the same Mrs Cassini who can barely see a yard in front of her, describing 25% of the population, yeah uh-huh, do you have any actual evidence that would hold up in a court of law?"

"Well no but who else would it have been?" Taylor said.

"Look I will talk to him but if he says it's not him, then I believe him! Now get out!" Luke growled.

"You are impossible!" Taylor exclaimed and stormed out of the diner.

* * *

Later on in the afternoon, Luke decided it would be best to corner Jess at the front of the school. He saw him dawdling out with a book in his hands.

"So how was school?" He asked.

"Geez, don't jump out at me like that!" Jess said.

"Sorry, so school was good?" He asked.

"School was school." He said.

"Um OK…so Taylor came into my diner today." Luke said. "You know, he's the guy who owns the market."

"Oh I know him." Jess muttered.

"Yeah well apparently the money that was raised for the bridge has gone missing and he seems to think it was you. Now if you tell me it wasn't you, I will believe you."

"OK, it wasn't me.".

"Well that didn't sound very convincing." Luke said.

"Look what do you want from me?" Jess shouted. "I came here to this crazy town, I even moved in with your girlfriend! I did everything I was told. Why can't you just leave me alone?"

"You really want that?"

"Yes!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

"Good!"

"Real good!"

They walked beside each other across the bridge angrily and in silence and before he knew what he was doing, Luke pushed Jess sideways off the bridge and into the lake.

He stormed back to the Crap Shack to find Lorelai in the kitchen. "I pushed him into the lake." He said.

"What?" Lorelai said confused.

"Taylor came in and said something about missing bridge money and I confronted Jess and he wasn't very convincing. We had this big argument and then I pushed him in. This is bad. This is so bad!" he ranted.

"Well can he swim?" Lorelai asked.

"He's fine. He's wet but he's fine. Man I am in so far over my head that I can't see my own hat."

"Try turning it around"

"What was I thinking? Why did I say yes to this?"

"Because you saw a kid in desperate need of some help and you thought you would throw him a line… Look, why don't you go to the diner for a bit? Let Jess calm down and then you can talk to him later." She said softly.

Luke sighed. "Yeah you're probably right."

"OK, well I'll see you later then." She said.

Luke nodded and gave her a quick kiss before leaving.

* * *

Jess got back to the house to find Lorelai sitting on the porch with a cup of coffee and a towel.

"Here." She said.

"Thanks." He mumbled and went inside.

Lorelai sighed and followed him in. She waited for him to get changed before he came downstairs. "So Luke told me about the argument..." She said.

"Of course he did..." Jess muttered sitting on the sofa with a book.

Lorelai sighed and sat next to Jess. "You know, this whole the world is against me attitude. I've been there trust me." She said. "I know what it's like. I mastered it in heels, yet. And everything you're feeling might be totally justified, but Luke is a great guy and we all want you to do well here, we all want to take care of you. Maybe you are getting screwed or it just seems that way now, but from what I've heard it's a hell of a lot better than where you came from, do you agree?"

"GEEZ You don't know anything!" Jess said angrily. "Why can't you people leave me alone, I mean look at you! You've got this apparently perfect daughter, living in this town who thinks you're the queen and would actually kiss your feet if you asked, and then there's my uncle who would do anything for you like the good boy he is, tell me have you given him his treat yet? Look, you just keep living your perfect life, build a picket fence, get a dog, have flannel babies and let me live my own!" He exclaimed. He let out a big breath and then saw Lorelai's hurt face. He knew he hit a sore spot with that last bit.

"You done?" She asked.

He nodded. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have mentioned the baby thing." He said sincerely.

"It's fine." Lorelai said. "I do understand, Jess. I didn't have the greatest childhood either. My parents controlled me and didn't even think about what I wanted to become. When I became pregnant, I knew I had to take Rory away from that world. I didn't want her to have to go through what I went through. Yes it was hard but I managed it because of this town and Luke."

"Well you seem to have done a good job. Rory doesn't seem like one of those high society people." He said quietly.

Lorelai smiled. "No she isn't."

Jess sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to shout at you. It's just I hate people telling me what to do. I guess it came from being beaten if I didn't do as people said and I hated someone having that control over me." He admitted.

"Jess, Luke isn't trying to control you. He just wants to give you a nice life. He wants you to be happy. You're incredibly lucky to have him. If you give this situation half a chance, you might be surprised at how good it can be, how much you like living here, and how comfortable it feels to have someone like Luke you can really depend on… or Rory… or me, OK?" She said, feeling sorry for him. "So… Did you ever report any of these…um…beatings?"

"There was no point. It would be my word against theirs." Jess shrugged. "I guess I was sort of happy when Liz sent me away."

"Luke loves you Jess. Family means everything to him." She smiled.

"Yeah... I know." He said quietly. He looked at her. "I did steal the money." He admitted. "But only because Taylor was accusing me of being a thief the other day."

"What?" Lorelai frowned.

"I was in the market minding my own business, flicking through a magazine, and he came over to me and said I had to leave." Jess said. "He said I was loitering and implied I was going to steal from the shop. I swear I wasn't, I was just looking at the magazines." He said.

"So you thought to prove him right by stealing the bridge money?"

"Does this mean you believe me?"

"Yeah, I believe you." Lorelai said.

Jess looked at her in surprise.

"What? Taylor can be an idiot sometimes, the whole town knows it." She said.

Jess smirked. "And then that floppy haired Sasquatch of a bag boy started having a go." He said.

"Ah Dean…" Lorelai nodded.

"Yeah…wait how do you know his name?"

"Oh small town… and he dated Rory." She said.

Jess raised his eyebrows. "Didn't expect that. He doesn't seem like her type."

"Yeah well he was a nice boyfriend to her for a little bit but it sort of fizzled out. She's with someone else now." She said.

"Yeah, Luke told me. After warning me to stay away from her." He smirked.

Lorelai laughed. "Luke gets protective of Rory. He got into a physical fight with Dean for her."

"You're kidding?" Jess said bemused.

"Nope!" Lorelai smirked. "But he seems to like Tristan which says a lot."

"Are you going to tell Luke about the money?" Jess asked.

"I can't keep it from him, Jess. But maybe you could tell him. Tell him what you told me." She said. "If you return the money, he's probably going to be madder at Taylor than you."

Jess nodded.

"Well I've got to get back to the inn. Will you be OK here?" She asked.

Jess nodded and watched her get up. "Lorelai?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks." He said.

Lorelai smiled. "Talk to Luke, Jess. Give him a chance."

Jess nodded and watched her leave.

* * *

That evening, Rory came home late because she had to go and collect a book from her Grandpa and have a weird conversation with her Grandma and her DAR friends. She found everyone in the living room.

"Hey!" She said.

"Hey hon!" Lorelai smiled, looking up from her study notes. "Day OK?"

"Yeah but it got kind of weird at Grandma's…" Rory said.

"Uh-oh, how weird?" Lorelai asked.

"I'm coming out!" She announced.

* * *

 **Review my pretty things and I will shower you with rainbows and hugs and kisses...**

 **Now I am off to try and write 25 pages of a script for class... try being the operative word.**


	27. Chapter 27

Ok ok ok I'm so so so sorry, I know its been over a month... but adjusting to full time hours has been blah, especially when I have to wake up at 5.30am and then I don't want to do anything when I get home, the job is boring as hell but it's at least a job. But here is your awaited chapter, and its like double... almost tripled the normal length just for your patience.

* * *

 **Previously…**

 **That evening, Rory came home late because she had to go and collect a book from her Grandpa and have a weird conversation with her Grandma and her DAR friends. She found everyone in the living room.**

" **Hey!" She said.**

" **Hey hon!" Lorelai smiled, looking up from her study notes. "Day ok?"**

" **Yeah but it got kind of weird at Grandma's…" Rory said.**

" **Uh-oh, how weird?" Lorelai asked.**

" **I'm coming out!" She announced.**

"I thought you said she had a boyfriend?" Jess asked Luke.

"Shut up Jess" Luke growled back though he was just as confused as his nephew.

"What do you mean out? Out of what?" Lorelai asked.

"Out! Like out in society!" Rory exclaimed.

"What?" Lorelai said in disbelief.

"Yeah I went over to grandma and grandpas after school to collect a book from Grandpa… and Grandma was outside with her DAR friends and next thing I know I was sitting on the patio with them and then she mentioned it to me and I found myself saying yes."

"No, no no no! Oooohhh she's good!" Lorelai said reaching for the phone. "Don't worry I'll get you out of this." She said.

"No, mom! It's OK." Rory said taking the phone from her.

"You want to do this?"

"Well not really but Grandma was so excited about me doing it. It was nice to see someone happy." Rory said quietly.

Lorelai sighed understanding what she meant. "You're such a great kid and the best grand-kid they could have."

Rory gave her a small smile.

"Right…" Lorelai sighed. "This at least gives me a good excuse to go shopping. You'll need a dress and gloves and if my mother has her way then precisely 12 pairs of pantyhose…" She said.

Rory nodded. "I need an escort too apparently..." She said.

"Well you can ask Tristan, can't you?" Lorelai said.

"Yeah I guess but I don't want to force him..."

"Well if he doesn't want to do it, Jess can." She grinned.

"What? No!" Jess protested.

Rory smirked. "Don't worry, I won't make you do it." She said.

"Thank god..." Jess grumbled.

"Do you even know what this is?" Lorelai asked.

"No? But I am glad I am not part of it" he smirked back.

"Wipe that smirk off your face because I can get you in a tux, don't underestimate the powers of Lorelai Gilmore." She then turned back to Rory after seeing Jess go back to his book. "Now babe, what else do you need?"

Rory sat down on the sofa with her booklet looking through it a little more. "Oh…" She said quietly.

"What?" Lorelai asked.

"It says I need my father to present me..." Rory said. "I guess I could ask Grandpa…"

Lorelai and Luke exchanged glances. Lorelai shook her head. "No Rory, you shouldn't be afraid of ringing him and asking him to do it. You never ask him for anything. He owes you this much."

"I know but I haven't talked to him since he told me Rachel was…well you know...So it's been nearly two months." She said quietly.

"Oh..." Lorelai said quietly. She took a deep breath and reached for the phone.

"What are you doing?" Rory asked.

"I'm not going to let him bail on this as well. I'll call him." Lorelai said, taking the phone into the kitchen.

Rory looked at Luke. "You'll come right?" She saw his panicked expression. "You won't have to do anything, just stay with mom. I'm guessing if dad comes, so will Rachel so at least you will know someone…"

Luke nodded. "I'll be there. Don't worry."

Rory nodded and smiled at him. "Thanks."

Suddenly there was a knock on the door as Lorelai was walking back in. "Well kid, looks like your dad's going to be there." She smiled going to the door.

"Really? So 50/50 then?"

"I'd say more like 60/40. He's going to be in town visiting Rachel and his Parents that weekend." Lorelai said, opening the door. "Oh hey Tristan, come on in!"

Rory smiled as she saw her boyfriend. "Hey! Did I know you were coming over?" She said getting up and giving him a kiss.

"Hey! No you didn't so I think I'll just take that kiss you just gave me and go…" He smiled.

"No don't go" Rory leached on to him pretending to be a three year old.

"OK OK, anything for you Mary."

"Really? Anything…" Lorelai said.

Tristan noticed Lorelai looking at Rory obviously encouraging her to do something. "Uh… What am I missing?" He asked.

"Nothing..." Rory said unconvincingly.

"Rory…"

Rory sighed. "My Grandma's signed me up for this debutante ball." She said.

"Ah you're coming out!" He smirked.

"Yeah and I sort of need…"

"An escort?" Tristan said.

"Yeah… how did you know?" Rory asked.

"I've had to do so many of these things. My parents have forced me to escort girls of family friends or business partners for years." He explained.

"Oh so I guess you're sort of sick of them…" Rory said.

Tristan smirked. "Rory, just ask me."

"Will you be my escort?" She said.

"I'll be there."

"Really?" Rory grinned.

"Of course. At least I might actually enjoy this one, getting to see you prance around during the fan dance will be my highlight of the year." He smiled.

"Ahhhh I love you! But no making fun of my dancing, we all know I am terrible." Rory grinned hugging him, making Tristan chuckle.

"Well it's a good thing I am great at it" He smirked

"Really?" Lorelai asked surprised.

"Yeah shockingly enough, when I said my parents have been pimping me out for years I meant since I was six which involved mandatory dancing lessons every week. Surely you know a thing or two about that being Emily and Richards daughter and all."

"Oh trust me I do, my next mission is to get Luke out on the hardwood, and it may prove to be tough." Lorelai said.

At the mention of the diner man, Tristan then noticed Luke and a boy he didn't recognise. "Luke." He smiled. "It's good to see you back."

"It's good to be back." Luke said shaking his hand.

"Oh yeah you haven't met Jess, have you?" Rory said to Tristan. "This is Jess, Luke's nephew. He's going to be living with us for a while."

"Oh cool." Tristan said. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Tristan." He smiled holding out a hand to him.

"My boyfriend." Rory smiled.

"Kind of gathered that." Jess smirked whilst shaking Tristan's hand.

* * *

The next evening, Luke, Lorelai and Rory stood outside the mahogany door of gloom, aka the Gilmore Mansion. Naturally Lorelai and Luke were taking their time before ringing the doorbell. Lorelai turned to Luke, grateful that he was there, how it should be.

"Thanks for coming." Lorelai smiled at Luke.

"No problem. Are you ready to go in yet?" Luke asked, Lorelai nodded.

Rory rang the doorbell and the maid let them in. They went through to the living room where Emily and Richard were.

"Rory, Lorelai!" Emily smiled seeing them. She then noticed Luke. "Luke, how nice to see you!" She said sincerely. "Rory told us you had come back."

"It's nice to see you too." Luke said.

Richard then came forward. "Lorelai, it's good to see you looking better." He smiled.

"Thanks dad." Lorelai said. "I feel better."

Richard shook Luke's hand.

"I take it everything has been resolved between the two of you?" Emily asked cautiously.

Lorelai smiled. "Yeah, we had a long talk and we're OK."

"Good, that's good." Emily smiled.

They all sat down and had their drinks and asking the obligatory questions of how was school, work, social lives etc. until Emily broached the subject of the upcoming ball.

"So Rory, I can't tell you how happy I am that you are going to be part of the debutante ball!" Emily exclaimed.

"Well I'm happy to do it Grandma." She smiled.

"Have you managed to sort everything out for it?" She asked.

"We've got it covered, mom. Not to worry." Lorelai said.

"Well good." Emily said. "Luke, you are very welcome to come as well." She addressed him.

"Thank you. I'll be there." He said smiling over at Rory who smiled back at him.

"I was just checking everything was sorted, I take it Tristan will be escorting you?" Emily asked Rory.

"Yes, he was happy to do it, he said he has done it before and that he's a good dancer and promises not to let me fall."

"Wonderful… and uh… will Christopher be there?" Emily asked carefully.

"He said he will be, but I haven't seen him or spoken to him much lately so who knows, but it's OK if he doesn't show, I can ask Grandpa or Luke to present me."

"I'm sure your dad will be there." Luke assured Rory. Lorelai and Emily mirrored the same look in gratitude for how Luke cared for Rory.

The maid then came in and announced that dinner.

"Well let's eat then." Emily said leading them through to the dining room.

* * *

The next week, Luke, Lorelai, Tristan and Rory entered the big hall where the debutante ball was being held.

"Wow…" Rory said looking round. "It's so big…"

"Dirty..." Lorelai said quietly.

Rory playfully hit her. "Stop it! But look at that staircase, how am I supposed to walk down that in a ball gown, I am so going to fall on my face."

Lorelai grinned. "You will be fine, trust me, besides Emily would disown us if you did, so you better go up and get ready, hon." She said. "I'll send your dad up when he arrives."

Rory nodded and went over to the lady in charge who led her upstairs. _If he arrives._ She thought.

"I'll go get ready as well." Tristan said leaving Luke and Lorelai.

"Did you ever have to do anything like this?" Luke asked.

"Thankfully no. I had a dress fitted and everything but I didn't actually get to the coming out bit." She said.

"How come?"

"Because I was 16… and the dress suddenly didn't fit." She said.

"Oh…" Luke said understanding. "Sorry…"

"No, I was happy to get out of it but my parents, not so much… and I wouldn't change a thing." She said. She gave Luke a small smile and linked her arm through his. "Come on, let's go get a drink, maybe we will get acquainted with the barman." She said.

They were standing with their drinks when Rachel came up to them. "Lorelai, Luke… hi." She said.

"Oh…Rachel…hi…" Lorelai said, her eyes going down to the small baby bump she had already, anyone else would have thought she had just had a big meal but Lorelai knew otherwise and was a little caught off guard since Rachel must have only been 3 or 4 months along.

"Hi…" She said hesitantly. She then smiled at Luke. "It's good to see you back, Luke. To see you both together."

Luke smiled. "Thanks."

"Yeah thanks… y… you look great." Lorelai said tearing her eyes away for her bump. "Is Chris here?"

"Yeah he ran into your parents who directed him to where he needed to be." She said.

"Oh good. Rory will be happy." Lorelai smiled, glad Christopher hadn't let them down for once.

"Yeah he was actually excited to come as well." Rachel said. "To see Rory. He's been missing her I think."

"Oh? Well he does have our number if he gets too sad… So anyway um… is everything going well with the…" Lorelai said gesturing to her stomach.

"Oh yeah. Everything's OK, apart from having no control over your body anymore." Rachel said.

"Good. That's good, I mean that everything's OK, just you wait a few more months then you will really see what no control looks like." Lorelai gave her a small smile. She felt Luke reach and squeeze her hand. They were all silent for a moment.

"I'm sorry if this is weird for you that I'm here..." Rachel said getting to the elephant in the room.

"Oh no, Rachel, it's fine, we're just surprised that's all…" Lorelai said. "We're happy for you. Truly. You're our friend, and Chris will have someone to hang out with too." She smiled.

"Thanks." Rachel said relaxing a little.

* * *

Once Emily and Richard arrived and made their rounds, Emily had ambushed her daughter by the cloak room.

"Lorelai!"

"Oh hey mom" she casually said.

"Don't hey mom me, have you seen who he bought here tonight!"

"What? Mr Stone brought his new mistress?"

"Don't play sassy with me young lady! I mean Christopher! He's here with that dirty photograph woman!"

"Uh mom I don't think Rachel does that kind of photography."

"I didn't mean that dirty, the women gallivants around the dusty mid-east for crying out loud! She was just telling Judge Monroe and his wife Fifi all about it, you know he's ex-military."

"OK mom what is the problem here?"

"How can he do this!? How can Chris bring that woman here on Rory's night?"

"Uh because she's his girlfriend and knows Rory. What's the big deal? Luke is here too."

"What's the big deal?! First of all, Luke was specifically invited. But this is about Christopher! He's parading her around here like some trophy, not to mention the fact that she's clearly pregnant which means Chris is having another child, which affects Rory which then affects you as well as us. Hopefully he has the sense to at least marry this one, though she is probably just after his money, he is the only Hayden heir after all." Emily said frantically.

"That's enough! Rachel is my friend, mine and Luke's! She isn't some dirty photo taking gold digger! She's a well-respected photojournalist, she has been published by some of the most elite magazines around the world, and they pay her just fine. I introduced her to Chris and they just clicked together, yes they didn't plan this baby, and yes it will be Rory's half brother or sister but things like this happen and they will do their best with the situation at hand. The only way it affects me is I have to support my daughter as well as two friends through this but I have no clue at all of how it affects you!"

"IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN YOU!" Emily blurted out, that caught Lorelai off guard. "It should have been you…" she said more quietly and walked off to possibly find her husband or to rub elbows with more society people. Lorelai stood there soaking in her mother's words, that's how Luke found her after coming out of the men's room.

"You OK? What happened?" he asked.

"Yeah I'm fine, just your typical Emily flagellation, she's on form tonight."

"Wanna talk about it."

"Not right now, maybe later… it's almost time, we should get in there."

Luke took her hand, giving her comfort, safety, and reassurance that she needed in this moment. Her thoughts were rattled by her mother's words. _What did she mean it should have been me?_

* * *

Soon the ball began and girls started to get presented. It wasn't long until Rory's name was announced and she appeared walking down the stairs with Chris right next to her.

Lorelai looked over at Luke who was watching them with a small smile. She leaned her head on his shoulder. "I take back what I said before… That is one thing I wish I could change" Lorelai said, Luke looked at her confused.

"I wish it was you who got to present her… " She whispered.

Luke turned to her in surprise. "What?"

"You deserve it more." Lorelai said.

He shook his head. "No, it's right that Chris does it. Rory's happy, that's all that matters."

"I don't just mean right here right now, I mean I wish it was you from the beginning, that you were her father."

"Then she wouldn't be the same Rory" Luke replied

"No she wouldn't…"

"If it helps, I love her just the same, like she is my own, because she's a part of you and she's an amazing girl."

Lorelai just smiled and watched as Chris gave her hand to Tristan who escorted her off to dance.

"God she's beautiful, she's so grown up, when did that happen?" Lorelai said longingly and Luke put his arm around her and held tightly.

Chris then joined them. "Hey Lore..." He said.

"Chris..." She said politely. She watched how he went to Rachel and immediately held her close to him, subtly placing a hand on her stomach and a kiss on her cheek.

Lorelai sighed, she subtly looked down at her flat stomach knowing some wounds would take longer to heal than others. She quickly shook those thoughts and leaned further into Luke as she watched Rory join in a group dance with feathered fans and couldn't help but smirk at how silly they looked. She caught Rory's eye and could see she was trying hard not to burst out laughing.

* * *

Later on, Chris and Rachel were still standing with Luke and Lorelai, each of them were avoiding the stuffy socialites as they were easily the youngest parents of a 17 year old there. Chris hadn't let go of Rachel since the moment he was finished with his fatherly duties as presenter. This also meant he hadn't ceased to being affectionate over the baby, but what he didn't know was Rory was watching them from a distance; she couldn't help feel a pang of jealousy on her behalf as well as sadness for her mother knowing he was never like this when Lorelai was pregnant.

"So are you excited Chris?" Lorelai asked trying to make conversation. She felt Luke's presence next to him and she gave him a reassuring smile letting him know she was fine. Besides, Chris with Rachel seemed to mellow Chris out, in a good way. He never sent Luke staring daggers or tried flirting with Lorelai in front of him, nope Christopher Hayden was completely infatuated by one Red curly haired photojournalist.

"Are you kidding? I can't wait! I'm going to do this right this time. I'm going to be there." He said.

"Well….good for you..." Lorelai forced a smile, like daughter like mother; she too now felt a sting of hurt by this comment and his stupid excited expression.

"I'm just going to go use the Ladies room." Rachel said feeling a bit awkward.

"Oh OK, I'll be waiting here." Chris smiled at her.

Rachel nodded and walked off.

"So it seems to be going well between you two…" Luke decided to enter the conversation, he genuinely was interested seeing as Rachel was one of his oldest friends. Lorelai smiled gratefully at him.

"Yeah, Rachel's great. I…I love her." Chris admitted. "Actually I'm thinking of maybe asking her to marry me…"

"Wow….really? Isn't that a little soon?" Lorelai asked shocked.

"Yeah, perhaps but I mean, we're going to be a family and I have a steady job now. I want us to be a real family." He said.

"Well that's…great… but think about it a little more, don't just rush into because of the baby." Lorelai managed to get out.

But before Chris could reply they were interrupted. "Um mom…" A voice behind them said.

Lorelai looked around and saw Rory, knowing by her expression that she had heard what Chris had said. "Hey sweets… everything OK?"

Rory gave her a small smile. "Um...I need some fresh air; I think I'm going to go for a walk outside. Tristan said he'd come with me."

"OK hon, I'll see you later. Congratulations by the way! You did amazing up there." Lorelai smiled.

Rory smiled a little then went off. Lorelai sighed, having seen the hurt in her eyes, she wanted to go after her but Tristan was with her, he could say something to cheer her up.

Rachel then came back and joined them, she had a puzzled yet worried look on her face.

"Everything alright?" Chris asked concerned.

Rachel nodded. "Yeah, but I think Lorelai's parents are looking for you…" She said.

"Oh. OK. I better go and find them then." He said giving her a kiss and then walked off.

Luke noticed Rachel wanting to say something but hesitating. He decided to give them some time, just the two of you. "I'm going to go check on Rory." He said giving Lorelai a kiss. "Will you be OK?"

Lorelai nodded and smiled. "Yeah. Thanks hon. Tell her we'll leave soon."

Luke nodded and went off.

"Something wrong with Rory?" Rachel asked.

Lorelai sighed. "She may have heard Chris saying some things about he's going to be there this time for this baby and wanting to be a family and doing it right… and all that, I think it struck a chord somewhere."

Rachel sighed. "Oh I'm sorry. I know this must be hard for her… and for you..."

"Oh I'm fine..." Lorelai said brushing it off like it's no big deal.

"You don't have to pretend. I've seen it in your face throughout this evening, like every time you would see Chris touching the bump… which I can't believe is showing already." Rachel said.

Lorelai sighed. "Yeah that's what happen to us women…" Rachel gave her a look. "Well… I guess I am a bit annoyed at him but I am happy for you. Honestly. I'm happy you two have found each other and are happy and secretly more so because it was me who introduced you guys. I just wish that Chris could have been there for Rory and well...for me as well, but I get it, we were kids, I had no choice but to grow up I just hoped he would have joined me and by his own decision not by our parents." She admitted. They decided to go sit down at their table since their heels were taking its toll on their feet.

"I get that…Especially since I just met your parents. I can see why he'd listen to them and not you."

"That scary huh?"

"Oh yeah, I don't blame you for running away, Chris's father has nothing on your mom for intimidation factor."

"Mhmmm I have seen a few good rounds of Hayden's vs the Gilmore's in my time, the Gilmore's always triumph, it has to do with the judgmental stare, once you see Emily arch that eyebrow, its game over." Lorelai joked causing Rachel to laugh at the mental image.

They were momentarily quiet until Lorelai spoke again. "So you've met his parents then?"

"Yeah I met them yesterday, we told them about… this" She said gesturing to her stomach.

"And?" Lorelai asked curiously.

"Couldn't really tell if they were happy or mad or what?"

"Yeah that sounds like Francine and Straub" Lorelai concurred.

"Um can I ask you something?" Rachel anxiously said.

"Sure."

"What did Chris do when you got pregnant? Like was he doting on you all the time or…?"

"Uh well, he was pretty shell-shocked for a few weeks until we told our parents then he just got submissive around them. He would do anything they would tell him to do and go along with whatever crazy plan they had thought up that week. When they weren't around he would still do some things his parents told him to do like propose and all that…"

"Wait he wanted to get married?"

Lorelai was surprised by that question. "Um I'm pretty sure he didn't want to but… well he did ask but under the influence of our parents. I think he thought it was the right thing to do but we were too young… and I couldn't give him an answer because the bell had rung and I had chem-lab. But when I did say no he was relieved and I think he took that as he's off the hook, so I would go to sonograms alone, he never felt her kick, he ignored me whenever someone was around him, oh and he moved on pretty quickly without informing me we were done, I caught him making out on the bleachers in the gym with my best friend at the time."

Lorelai look down, she was fidgeting with her hands like she always does when she's upset or nervous. Looking into the past brought back all those aching memories that caused her to cry herself to sleep throughout her pregnancy.

"So yeah that's pretty much it." She said with a sniff.

Rachel place a hand on Lorelai's fidgeting ones, she felt really bad for her having to do it all alone. "I'm so sorry Lorelai, you shouldn't have had to do that alone. So wait did he not even go with you to appointments and things?" Lorelai shook her head.

"But what about your parents?" Rachel asked.

"What? And risk their reputation being seen in public with their harlot daughter." She said bitterly.

"What about at the hospital when she was born? Did you have someone then?"

"Uh nope… well I did have a nurse who felt bad for me but other than that no. I took a cab to the hospital…"

"Wow…" she exclaimed "Lorelai, I think you're my new hero."

Lorelai scoffed at this. "You must have low standards" she jokingly said.

"No really, that sounds like it must have been tough but I see you now and I see Rory now and you've done an amazing job."

"Try telling that to my parents… but thanks for saying that Rachel."

"I just hope I never have to go through any of that."

"Oh no Rachel, I didn't mean to scare you, Chris at 16 was very different to Chris at 33, he's changed just by the way he is around you; you needn't have to worry."

"No I know, you're right, actually I am more scared that I'd be the one to do that."

"What do you mean?" Lorelai asked.

"Well, I feel like I would suck at this whole parenting thing, I'm not good with kids, I can't stay in one place for a long period of time, I absolutely love my job, I love travelling. I just don't know how I can give it up."

"Hmmm, that is something you do have to think about. But it is different when it's your own kid, I mean I am not exactly a kid person unless they are my own or a close friends. And who's to say you couldn't continue with your job, kids are light travelers, I wouldn't take them to a war zone or anything but they could go other places with you. But just give the mom thing a try for a while before you decide, let yourself into a routine before you panic and jump ship."

"Oh I'm not planning on it right now, but the thought has crossed my mind and I don't want to be that sort of person, I'm… just scared…that I will be that person."

"Yeah, well there is no easy answer I could give you. I guess that this is something you would have to talk to Chris about, he knows what it's like, I'm sure you could come up with some arrangement if it's really what you want. I mean have you expressed these feelings with him?"

"No, I don't want him thinking I am not in this relationship as much as he is because I am; I just don't exactly express it. Did I tell you he already asked me to move in with him?"

"No but that is a good thing right, he will be there for you, and you won't need to worry about finding a place after a trip. You did say you wanted to root down somewhere."

"Yeah that's true" she nodded.

"At least he didn't propose." Lorelai jokingly said.

"That's what I'm scared of next. I keep getting this feeling that he's thinking of proposing but I can't help but think it's because of the baby…" She admitted.

"I can't tell you what to do but if he does, think about it. Don't just do it for the baby, do it because you love him and he loves you and it's what would make you truly happy." Lorelai said. "To be honest, from what I've seen Chris loves you. I don't think he would propose because of the baby."

"You think he loves me?"

"He told me he did, he's completely head over heels in love with you and I've known him since I was 6, I've never seen him this way."

"Really?"

Lorelai nodded.

"I'm sorry if this makes it awkward for you with your history and everything."

"Hey don't worry about it, I mean I'm with a guy who has a long history with you, we could swap notes."

"Oooooh Yes! And then tease them about who is a better kisser."

"Exactly!" Lorelai exclaimed.

Meanwhile, outside, Rory was sat on a bench with Tristan, he had taken of his suit blazer and wrapped around his shivering girlfriend. "You ok?" Tristan asked concerned that she was being quiet, he now knew when a Gilmore girl was quiet it was because of deep thought which usually wasn't a good thing.

"Yeah…"

"Now why don't I believe you?" Tristan said.

"Because you know me too well…"

"Yeah I do so out with it then."

Rory sighed. "I just… I just heard my dad say some things, that's all…"

"What things? Like what?" concerned that Chris was being an asshole directly to his daughter which Rory didn't deserve.

"I overheard him talking to mom and Luke while Rachel was in the bathroom, about the baby… about doing it right this time, with Rachel and being there for her and the baby and wanting to be a proper family…"

"Oh…" Tristan said understanding, putting an arm round her.

"He's thinking about proposing to her as well…" Rory said quietly.

"Wow, really?"

Rory nodded. "I heard him talking to mom and Luke about it but I have a feeling he was never going to mention it to me until the invitations came in the mail…"

"And you don't want them to? To get married I mean."

"It's not that. I like Rachel, I really do, she's supercool and can show me around the journalism world; honestly she would make a cool stepmom. It's just, shouldn't he have talked to me about it? I mean will he even tell me when he's proposed? Or when the baby is born? He could barely get it out when he told me she was pregnant, at first he asked mom to tell me." She said, tearing up.

"Hey it's OK." Tristan soothed her holding her close to him.

"Was I just a practice kid to him? Was I just a mistake to him?" Rory cried on Tristan's shoulder. "No don't answer that because we both know I was, hell the whole world knows I was, you don't have parents who were 16 when you were born without being a stupid mistake."

"No Rory. Your dad loves you. He came to do this, right?" He said softly.

"Because he had to! He's never done anything for me! He didn't even come to Stars Hollow until last year! I was 16 then. Was I that much of a hassle that he couldn't be bothered with me? I remember one time he told us to meet at a truck stop over near Woodbridge, I was 6 and mom was 22, it was some shady roadside place with gangsters and bikers around, he kept us waiting for 3 hours before mom used the dirty payphone to ask where he was, but he blew us off! He came up with some lame excuse. But now he's got this new kid that he's all over it and it's not even born. It's not fair. I needed him! I needed my dad and he was never there." Rory cried.

Tristan hugged her. "Rory, you're amazing. You're smart, you're funny, and you're kind. You don't deserve him as your dad, you deserved the greatest dad. I know it's been hard with your dad but I'm sure he really does love you. And if he doesn't want to be part of your life then screw him. He's the one missing out, you're the greatest girl I have ever met. Besides you still have your mom. You're her whole world. And don't forget Luke, he loves you and Sookie and all those crazy town people, they all love you." He said softly.

Rory smiled tenderly thinking about her mom. "Yeah I guess. I've always had mom, and Luke, and all the crazies." She sniffed.

They then heard movement nearby and saw Luke standing there awkwardly.

"Luke…" Rory said quietly, getting up and rushing over to give him a hug. She tucked her head into the crook of his neck squeezing him even tighter.

"I just wanted to make sure you're OK." He said returning her hug, he patted her hair and place his head on top of it.

Rory nodded and wiped away a few tears. "I'm OK. I just needed to get it out. Can we go home soon?"

He nodded. "Let's go get your mom, say goodbye to your dad and Rachel and your grandparents then we can head back. And get the hell out of these monkey suits."

"Aww but Luke, you look very handsome in that monkey suit."

"Ay yai yai, you Gilmore girls will be the death of me."

"I don't exactly see you complaining… so shall we?"

Luke nodded and escorted her back inside with Tristan in tow. They bumped into Chris coming out of the men's room on the way in.

"Rory, are you OK?" He said with genuine concern.

"Yeah it's just been a long overwhelming day that I am really wanting to end to be honest."

"Oh alright, let's go find the ladies then we can all say our farewells."

"Sure" she said.

He noticed she looked a bit out of sorts talking to him but he didn't want to question it right now, she was actually tired. But when he looked at her, he didn't see the little girl he once barely knew, he saw this grown up woman, beautiful as ever.

"Hey Rory" he said getting her attention. "Did I tell you? You look really beautiful tonight kiddo."

Rory could at least smile at that. "Thanks dad. And thanks for coming."

When she said this Luke and Tristan shared a look, not exactly sure how to react but Chris's sincerity was helping the mood a little.

The four went back inside to the ball room and over to Lorelai and Rachel who were in laughing fits. Over what? They weren't sure.

"Hey what's so funny?" Chris asked.

"Oh nothing, we were just comparing notes?" Lorelai said through her giggles

"Notes?" Luke asked apprehensively.

"Yeah about you two. So tell us boys, who is the better lover between us two?"

"Ah geez" both Luke and Chris replied.

"Uh mom, before this gets any weirder and more gross can we leave now?" Rory asked.

Lorelai saw her tear-stained face and nodded. "Yeah sure thing hon' we can go. Bye you two. Good luck with everything."

"Thanks." Rachel said and Chris smiled.

Chris gave Rory a hug. "Bye kiddo."

"Bye dad." Rory said quietly.

* * *

The four of them said their farewells to Emily and Richard and then left. They gave Tristan a lift home and then went back to the Crap Shack where they found Jess in the armchair reading. He looked up when they came in. "How was the social elite stockyard? Got any good bidders for your dowry?" He smirked.

"It was OK." Rory said. "I'm going to go and get out of this dress and into something completely unladylike meaning sloppy but comfortable and go straight to bed. Night mom, night Luke." She said giving them both a hug.

"Night hon." Lorelai said.

"Night Rory." Luke said.

"Is she OK?" Jess asked noticing Rory's glum demeanor and lack of sassy response to his greeting.

"Yeah she will be. Just a long day." Lorelai said. "Actually I might just go in and check on her." She said and headed towards her daughters room, she apprehensively knocked on the door and heard a muffled "come in" from the other side. There she was, her little girl snuggled in her bed with a good book unlike that grown up woman that was presented to society this evening. No matter how old she gets Lorelai will always see her as 12 years old when she's like this.

"Hey sweets" she softly said and sat on the foot of the bed.

"Hey mom… is everything OK?" Rory asked.

"That's supposed to be my line. How are you holding up, things got a bit much back there huh?"

"Yeah I'm fine, I guess I was just having a 'Jan' moment and that doesn't mix well with being super tired."

"What, Rachel being the new 'Marcia'? You can talk to me about these things you know."

"Yeah, something like that, but don't worry I think I just need some sleep, and maybe some of Luke's pancakes first thing in the morning."

"That's my girl, I'll let him know, but for now you can put the book down the turn out the lights, OK?"

"Okay, night, love you." Rory said snuggling further into her pillow.

"Love you to kid." Lorelai said and quietly left the room. She walked back in the living room, collapsing onto the sofa next to Luke.

"Everything OK?" he asked.

"Hmmph, we'll see." She replied.

"OK well I think I might head to bed. See you tomorrow." Jess said heading upstairs, figuring he would be in the way downstairs.

Lorelai sighed. "She was pretty upset, wasn't she?" She said.

"I think so." Luke said. "Tristan was comforting her when I found them."

"Why did he have to say those things? I am happy for him but he knew Rory might hear." Lorelai said annoyed. "Tact never was his better quality, he never thinks."

Luke put her arm round her. "She's strong, like you... She'll be OK."

"I feel like it's my fault. Should I have forced Chris to be in her life more?"

Luke shook his head. "It's like that saying goes 'You can bring a horse to water but you can't make him drink it.' Well in this case a Donkey." He smirked.

"Because he's an ass."

"Exactly. You did everything for her. You gave him so many chances. He didn't take them. It's his fault, not yours."

Lorelai leaned her head on his shoulder and sighed. "Yeah…"

"Are you OK? It couldn't have been easy for you either." He said.

"I'm fine. I mean my mom said something that keeps playing in my head but I am trying my best to ignore it." She said. She saw Luke look at her. "Honestly. I'm just sad for Rory, that's all. Why did she have to get such a crappy dad?"

"Well she got an amazing mom." Luke gave her a small smile.

Lorelai smiled back. "Thanks." She said. They sat there for a bit. "And she got you… I meant what I said tonight, I wish you were the one that had got me pregnant all those years ago. You are gonna be a great dad someday." Lorelai said quietly.

Luke smiled a little. "Well I'm not going anywhere, so that 'someday' will come around eventually." he said giving her a loving kiss on the head.

* * *

 **So there you have it. Hope you enjoyed it. I know I know there's a bit too much of Rachel and Chris but meh its helps character development.**

 **You know the drill, Review, Review, Review... it might actually get in the mood to write quicker.**


	28. Chapter 28

OK Sorry for another wait but things got hectic over the holidays, So merry Christmas and Happy New year etc. Its hard being motivated to write when you wake up at 5.30am every morning and work 40 hours a week, I honestly hate being an adult. So this chapter is actually only half of the original chapter because I only got to half way of it and found it's at 5k words. But enjoy.

* * *

" **Are you ok? It couldn't have been easy for you either." He said.**

" **I'm fine. I mean my mom said something that keeps playing in my head but I am trying my best to ignore it." She said. She saw Luke look at her. "Honestly. I'm just sad for Rory, that's all. Why did she have to get such a crappy dad?"**

" **Well she got an amazing mom." Luke gave her a small smile.**

 **Lorelai smiled back. "Thanks." She said. They sat there for a bit. "And she got you… I meant what I said tonight, I wish you were the one that had got me pregnant all those years ago. You are gonna be a great dad someday." Lorelai said quietly.**

 **Luke smiled a little. "Well I'm not going anywhere, so that 'someday' will come around eventually." he said giving her a loving kiss on the head.**

The fall began to grow colder preparing for winter, it was the week before thanksgiving. Sitting in English class, they were split into groups for this new assignment. Rory, Tristan, Paris, Madeline, Louise and Brad were assigned Act V, the infamous tragic death scene of the young star-crossed lovers. Naturally Paris took control as if she was the bard himself.

"OK, so Tristan and Rory, you're Romeo and Juliet." She said.

"Why does Rory get to be Juliet?" Louise asked.

"Because she's the best public speaker here and seeing as those two are constantly making googly eyes at each other, it will be realistic. Besides you'll be better suited to being lady Montague." She said.

"We're not constantly making googly eyes at each other Paris…" Rory said embarrassed.

"Whatever." Paris said. "So you two are Romeo and Juliet, OK?"

"Fine by me." Tristan smirked.

"Me too." Rory said, smiling at Tristan.

"Good! Now we're rehearsing after school today. We will get an A+ for this. I'll accept nothing less than 110% or you'll all pay." She said.

"Yes boss!" Tristan said.

Rory elbowed him while Paris glared at him. "You will all be there to rehearse and you will all learn your lines forwards and backwards, or else I can't be held responsible for my actions. No goofing off, messing around, slacking, or being a wise guy." She snapped.

"Paris, we'll all be there, don't worry." Rory assured her.

"Good. I'm trusting you Rory. Especially keeping pony boy here in line." She said.

Rory nodded.

Paris dismissed the group.

"Must you antagonize her?" Rory asked Tristan after class as they walked towards their lockers.

"Yes I must, it is fun! You should try it." Tristan laughed.

"Yeah I must admit it is, but she's actually OK with us seeing each other and I know what it's like to be on the wrong side of her so I'd like to keep being her friend please?" Rory said.

"Fine, I'll be good." He smirked.

"Good boy." Rory said patting his head.

"Now do you want to go practice that dying kiss?" He smirked.

"Well… I guess that would count as studying…" She said. "Let's go!" She grinned.

* * *

They spent time throughout the week rehearsing, Paris even managed to book out Miss Patty's for a couple of hours. She had them rehearse till it was perfect, so the rehearsal went well until it was late in the evening and Tristan was walking Rory home when they heard a voice behind them.

"I see you lied then." Dean said.

Rory turned around and glared at him. She hadn't forgotten their last encounter when Dean had said some really hurtful things. "I lied about nothing." She snapped.

"You and accountant boy." Dean said. "You said you weren't dating."

"That was ages ago Dean! And we weren't dating then, not that it's any of your business." Rory glared at him. She felt Tristan grab her hand and squeeze it.

"Look, we don't want any trouble but I'd be happy to punch you again if you'd like." Tristan warned.

Dean snorted. "Yeah sure! This is my town. I think people here would side with me this time." He said.

"Really? I seem to think this is Rory and Lorelai's town and if they heard what you had said about them, I wouldn't be so sure. Unlike you Rory and Lorelai grew up here, you moved here less than a year ago, you're nothing… but they're like royalty." Tristan said. "Also may I remind you that Luke is seeing Lorelai? Do you really want to risk it?"

Dean hesitated for a minute.

"Good choice Jackass." Tristan said. "Come on, Rory. Let's go." He said, walking away with her. Dean watched them glaring.

* * *

The next day was the day of the performance. Everyone was gathered in the stone-filled courtyard, using the bench as the perfect tomb for the infamous tragic scene. Lorelai, Sookie and Lane were there and Lorelai had even managed to drag Luke along while Jess covered the diner.

Rory ran up to them. "How do I look?" She smiled giving them a twirl.

"A lot like Juliet… 13 years old, naively in love, and about to die." Lorelai joked.

"Well that's good then!" Rory grinned. "Have you seen Tristan?" She asked.

"Not yet hon, why's that?" Lorelai said.

Rory frowned. "He said he'd be here by now." She said worriedly. _Come on Tristan, Paris will have your head on a platter if you show late. Hah he's Romeo, he's supposed to have a battle with Paris about now._

Luke looked around and spotted Tristan coming in. "He's here." He said pointing towards him.

"Oh good!" Rory relaxed. "Paris would kill me if he hadn't showed. I'll see you after. Lane, I think Henry's groups is up next." She smiled.

"Oh thanks!" Lane smiled rushing to the front.

Rory went over to Tristan. "Everything OK?" She asked.

"Yeah it's fine. Sorry I'm a bit late. I just had a fight with my dad. Boarding school was threatened." He said.

"Oh sorry. Wanna talk about it? I mean after this is over." Rory said.

"Nah It's fine." He smiled. "You ready to do this?"

"Ready." She smiled. "Let's go find Paris so she can stop stressing."

Tristan chuckled and they disappeared out of the hall.

Soon it was time for the Act 5 scene, they all got to their positions around the courtyard, treating it as a tomb on a stage, waiting for the audience to walk in from the previous act. Tristan went up to Rory. "By the way, you still look beautiful dead." He said.

"Thanks….I think…"

Tristan smirked. "You better lay down."

"Well when you put it like that… No funny business though, Mr Du Grey" said Rory.

"Maybe I'll save that for later, and it's Mr Montague for however long this may take." He replied.

"Just suck it up because this may be the only chance you get to kiss me for an A+, did I mention you look good in tights." She teased.

Their scene soon started and it felt so realistic. Tristan's acting was that of someone who had lost the love of his life. Rory could hear him getting to the end of his monologue. She could feel tingles go through her as Tristan touched her cheek and then she heard the words. "Thus, with a kiss, I die." She felt Tristan give her a gentle but loving kiss and then felt his head go down on her chest.

It was only when she heard the applause that she opened her eyes. She saw Tristan smiling beside her. He held out his hand and she took it as he helped her off the table.

"Easiest A+ ever." He smirked.

Rory grinned. "You were great."

Lorelai turned to Luke in the audience. "Now tell me that wasn't sweet." She said.

"It was good." Luke gruffly admitted. "A little too good… make sure I go before Rory does, and you for that matter."

"Whoa babe three scenes from Shakespeare's greatest love tragedy and you go morbid on me."

"Sorry, it was just really good… I uh… just… hit a nerve … don't tell Rory" he struggled to say.

"Aw hon, don't worry, we're not going anywhere, and I'll keep this soft Luke to myself, he's nice and cuddly." She said looking into his eyes then resting her chin on his shoulder.

* * *

The following week, Lorelai came home all depressed, slamming the door behind her and grumbling under her breath. She found Rory in the living room watching TV and Jess in the armchair reading.

"What's up with you?" Rory asked.

"The Bracebridge group got snowed in in Chicago, no flights are leaving, so the dinner is cancelled." Lorelai said.

"Aw mom, I'm sorry." Rory said sympathetically knowing how much her mom and Sookie had planned for it and how much effort they had made.

"Now we have a ton of food, costumes, and old school weird musicians and no one to share it with... At least it's already paid for in full so that's the only plus in the situation." She sighed.

Rory thought for a minute. "Hey, how about you invite everyone to the inn?"

"What do you mean everyone?" Lorelai asked.

"Everyone everyone. Like everyone in the town. It could be fun! We could all stay in the rooms." Rory said excitedly.

Lorelai's eyes lit up. "That could work!"

Jess looked up at them. "Don't say I have to go." He said.

"Well everyone does involve moody teenagers so yes!" Lorelai grinned.

"Great…" He said sarcastically.

"I can invite Tristan so that you have a guy to talk to." Rory grinned.

"Oh yeah because pretty rich boy will be interested in me when he has you there." Jess rolled his eyes.

"Oh hush you!" Lorelai said.

"He's really not like that, trust me, it will be fine." Rory assured him.

Luke then walked through the front door and found Rory and Lorelai grinning at him. "Ok what's up?" He asked.

"You don't want to know." Jess said.

"The Bracebridge group had to cancel because they are snowed in and no flights are leaving Chicago, so…. we're now throwing the Bracebridge dinner for the town! Or the Stars Hallow medieval Extravaganza." Lorelai exclaimed excitedly. "We can all stay at the inn and eat great food."

"And I'm guessing the 'we' includes me?" Luke groaned.

"Aw come on Luke! … We can share a room!" She said trying to persuade him.

"We already share a room here. But actually we can't because won't you be sharing with Rory?" He asked.

"Tristan's coming so I can share with him." Rory suggested.

"No." Luke said immediately. "No no no and Definitely NO, period! End of!" _There is no way I'm letting my little girl share with her boyfriend, I might as well buy them the condoms now._

"But Luke…" Rory said.

"No." He repeated.

Rory frowned. "Why not? That way you and mom can share."

"Because…" Luke said trying to come up with an excuse. _Ah geez what do I say, it is Rory after all, I mean that leaves Jess unsupervised too, oh Jess, Jess is good let's go with that…_ "Because Jess won't have anywhere then." He explained.

"I'm happy to not go." Jess interrupted unhelpfully.

"Shut up Jess! Geez Luke It's not like I'm going to sleep with him!" Rory exclaimed.

"Rory..." Lorelai said.

"No! That's what he was thinking!" Rory said upset. "I thought you liked Tristan! I guess that was a lie." She said angrily and stormed off towards her room. When she got to the door she quickly turned around to face the others once more, speaking directly to Luke "Oh and another thing you're not my father so you can't tell me what to do or who I see!" and with that she entered her room and slammed her door behind her.

"Nice going, Uncle Luke." Jess smirked.

"Shut it!" He glared at his nephew. "Screw this, I'm going to take a shower" he said going up stairs.

"Jess, tell me when Rory comes out of her room please." Lorelai asked.

"Sure." Jess said going back to his book.

Lorelai went upstairs to have a word with her boyfriend. She entered their room and found Luke on the bed removing his boots. "OK what's your problem?" She asked without any warning.

"Rory and Tristan shouldn't be sharing. It's not right." Luke said.

"What do you mean it's not right? Luke, don't you trust Rory?" Lorelai asked softly.

"Of course I trust Rory. I just don't want Tristan pressuring her to do anything she doesn't want to do." He exclaimed.

Lorelai was grateful for his concern. "And you genuinely think he would?" She asked.

He sighed. "I don't know. You don't know what goes on behind closed doors."

"Look, if it makes you feel better, we'll put Jess in with them. They won't do anything if he's in there with them." Lorelai said.

"I don't know. I still don't like it." He said taking off his cap and roughing a hand through his hair.

"Luke, I love that you care about Rory so much but she's her own person. We have to trust her. And personally I trust Tristan as well." She said softly. "We can add two trundle beds so that they all have their own bed. Don't you want to share a room with me?" She asked.

Luke sighed. "I just don't like it. Of course I want to share with you but I don't like the idea of Rory and Tristan being in the same room."

"We can put them between Taylor and my parents, and if that doesn't work then Patty can be across the hall, nothing gets past her." Lorelai smirked.

Luke sighed, rubbing his hands over his face. "I still don't like it, I have my concerns. I mean if we put them next to Miss Patty she will most likely encourage it, being their cheerleader." He ranted.

"OK Luke that's enough –" Lorelai tried to calm him.

"And your parents, well geez they will have a fit about Rory being alone with not just one boy but two, they will go on and on about history repeating itself and blame you and me."

"OK Luke! You need to stop, Rory isn't me, she isn't going to have sex with Tristan, she isn't going to get pregnant!"

"Yeah how would you know, you two are almost the same person, how does the saying go? Like mother like daughter?" Luke slipped out that last bit, he didn't mean it but it was out there.

Lorelai was trying so hard to not slap him at that moment, she couldn't believe he threw that back in her face.

"…Lorelai, I'm sor –"

"NO SAVE IT LUKE!" she said going to grab a jacket from her closet. "I need to get some air so I don't hit you right now, so have your shower and when I get back you better be sleeping on the couch!" she said and slammed the bedroom door on the way out. She stormed down the stairs and saw Jess in the same place she left him, she knew he heard every word but continue to storm towards the front door.

"Jess, text me when or if Rory comes out of her room, I'm going to Sookie's, you better be in your room by the time I get back." She demanded.

"Want me to make sure Luke is on the couch too." He sarcastically replied. Lorelai ignored this and once again slammed the door as she left.

She wandered around town for a little bit before heading to Sookie's. Her best friend let her in and vented and also told her about the dinner which she was all for. It was then getting very late and Sookie had to be at the inn early to make pastries for the dinner the following evening. So Lorelai went on her way, she sat in the gazebo for a while just listening to the wintery air and quietness of the town who all seems to go to sleep by 10.

Eventually she made her way back to the crap shack and carefully took off her boots so the clacking didn't wake Luke who was a good boy and was fast asleep on the couch… or so she thought. She was still mad at him but she didn't want him to wake up knowing he had deliveries in the morning. She tiptoed towards Rory's room, having never received a text from Jess, Lorelai silently peeked into her daughter's room to find her curled up in a ball but sound asleep. From there she quietly crept up the stairs, ignoring the sigh she heard coming from Luke. She entered her room, changed into her pajamas and tried to sleep off her anger towards the love of her life.

* * *

Later the next day, everyone started arriving at the inn for the dinner. Luke and Jess were standing off to the side whilst Lorelai and Rory took turns greet their guests and keeping Sookie from either having a meltdown or preventing a trip to the emergency room. The girls still hadn't spoken to Luke since the previous night, Luke noticed Lorelai was able to get in a breather between guests arriving, he decided this was his time to do what a lot of men hadn't learnt in their lives, and that is to say sorry.

He approached his girlfriend cautiously. "Hey Lorelai…"

"– Not now Luke" she cut him off.

"Please I need to talk to you."

"What so you can insult me and my past choices again?" she snapped.

"No I want to apologize."

"What?"

"I was way out of line, I don't know why I said it, and I am so sorry, I guess I just freaked when Rory was talking about spending a night with her boyfriend and my head instantly went to the worst place, I know Rory isn't like that and I know you trust her, I trust her too… she's just growing up too fast, I panicked. Please hon please forgive me." He said sincerely.

Lorelai stood there taking in what he was saying, she was quiet for a minute before speaking. "…OK babe I forgive you, but you have gotta trust me sometimes, I get that you want to protect Rory forever but she will eventually grow up and leave us. She has very rarely broken my trust, and I mean she only did that one time last year with the whole dean and dance thing."

"I know, I know and again I am sorry."

"I know you are, but if it is any consolation, I swapped Miss Patty with the Kim's, so I doubt they will even be able to hold hands with Mrs Kim around. Oh another thing, whenever something like this happens, you cannot, and I mean NOT throw stuff back in my face like you did, otherwise this relationship will never get anywhere if you do."

"I am really sorry, truly I am. Are we good?"

Lorelai nodded. "We're good" she stated. "Wow one night on the couch and I have you begging for forgiveness, I should have probably held out longer to see you on your knees."

He then leant in to her ear "play your cards right and I will later on tonight." He said in a sultry voice causing Lorelai to giggle as he pulled away. They looked at each other in a moment of silence "I should… probably go talk to Rory…" He said.

Lorelai nodded. "She really wants you to like Tristan. It would mean a lot to her to get your approval."

Luke sighed and headed towards Rory's direction. "Rory? Can I please talk you?" He asked.

She could see the desperation in his eyes, she knew she couldn't stay mad at him for long. "Yeah… OK" Rory said.

They went and sat down on the couches sitting in the middle of the lobby. "Sooo..." He said cautiously.

"So..." She said quietly.

He sighed. "I'm sorry." He said.

Rory looked up at him and sighed. "I thought you liked Tristan." She said in a small voice.

"I do." Luke admitted. "He's a good guy. I just… it's just thinking about you two in the same room together. I overreacted. I probably overstepped the mark and I'm sorry. It's not my place."

Rory nodded. "I honestly just wanted you and mom to be able to share a room, I'm pretty sure she's at the stage where she can't sleep without you. I wasn't even thinking about what you were accusing me of." She said. "I…I'm not ready for any of that yet and Tristan knows that and he respects that." She said quietly.

"Rory, you don't need to tell me this. It wasn't my place to say anything." He said.

"No, it kind of is in a way, I know you think of me as a daughter and truthfully I return the sentiments. Luke, I love that you care about me. At least someone does." She said thinking about her dad. "I just want you to trust me and Tristan. Even if we did want to do something which we don't, I would talk to mom about it first. I always promised her I would." She said.

"I do trust you Rory. It's just… I'm new to this. Living with teenagers and everything, I'm not very good at it." He said embarrassed.

Rory got up and went over to him and gave him a hug. "I think you're doing just fine." She smiled.

Luke relaxed a bit and hugged her back. "I am honestly sorry." He said. "I didn't mean to upset you."

"It's fine." Rory said. "If you really want, I'll just put Tristan in a room by himself and I'll share with mom and you can share with Jess."

"It's fine. Your mom said we can put Jess in with you two." He said.

"Really?" Rory asked.

"Yeah. But your neighbors are now your grandparents and Taylor, and the Kim's are across the hall."

Rory smiled. "That sounds fair, maybe if we promise to keep the door open then Lane can hang out with us for a bit. But thanks Luke."

"Good luck trying to convince Mrs Kim of that… So we're OK?"

"Yeah, we're OK."

"Hey Rory… can you do me a favor?" Luke asked.

"Sure, what's that?" she replied.

"Promise me not to grow up too quickly… for me" he pleaded.

This filled Rory's heart with even more warmth that she had for this man, now understanding where he was coming from with this whole argument. She smile at him and nodded."

"Sorry to interrupt this little pow-wow but Rory, lover boy's here" Jess smirked.

Rory looked over to the entrance and saw Tristan walking in. She grinned and ran over to him. "Hey!" She smiled giving him a kiss.

"Hey yourself." He smiled.

"I'll show you to our room." She smiled walking him over to the others.

"Our room?" He questioned.

"Yeah plus me. Sorry to burst your bubble." Jess smirked.

"Oh Hi Tristan!" Lorelai greeted him before the conversation could proceed.

"Hi Lorelai. Thanks for inviting me." He smiled.

"No problem glad you could make it." She said.

"Luke." Tristan held out his hand to the gruff diner man.

"Tristan." He said shaking it.

"Well here's your key. Meet us down here in about 10 minutes for a surprise." Lorelai smiled.

"Cool!" Rory smiled and she led Jess and Tristan up to the room.

"Don't worry, I will keep an eye on these crazy kids for you." Jess smirked.

"Have I missed something?" Tristan asked confused.

"Just ignore him." Rory said.

* * *

They went back down after 10 minutes and found out about the horse drawn sleds awaiting them.

"Aw jeez…" Jess groaned next to Tristan and Rory.

"You're sounding more and more like Luke every day!" Rory laughed.

"Lucky me." He said sarcastically.

Rory laughed. She turned to Tristan. "Fancy it?" She asked hopefully.

"Sure, why not." He smiled.

Rory grinned and led him outside. They got outside to see Lorelai persuading Luke to ride with her. They then got into the next sleigh, they cosied up together underneath the faux throw and held hands.

"So are you going to tell me what Jess meant when he was saying he'd keep an eye on us?" Tristan asked.

Rory sighed. "It's nothing, really."

"Rory…"

"It's just…Luke wasn't very keen for us to share a room. I wanted him to be able to share with mom so I suggested I could share with you." She said quietly.

"Ah…" He said suddenly understanding.

"We compromised with sharing with Jess as well." She said.

"Luke thought that we would…" Tristan said.

"Yeah. But I assured him we wouldn't, not that I'm saying we wouldn't ever but that we wouldn't tonight, not when half the town is in the same building and not when I'm not ready..." She said.

"He doesn't trust me." Tristan guessed.

"He does. He's just…overprotective." Rory said.

Tristan just nodded.

"He does like you. He told me he did." Rory assured him.

"Really?" Tristan asked surprised.

"He said you were a good guy." She smiled.

"High praise indeed." He chuckled.

"I don't think it was about him trusting us. I just…I don't know. It's Luke." She shrugged.

"And he loves you like you're his own daughter." Tristan said.

"What?" Rory asked.

"He does. It makes sense that he would be so overprotective of you." He said.

"It's kind of nice to have someone care like Luke, I hope one day that he and my mom will get married so he could officially be a father in my life, he's done more for me than Christopher." She admitted.

"I guess I just have to prove myself worthy of you." He smiled.

"You are worthy of me." Rory smiled leaning her head on his shoulder.

"To Luke, only a prince will be worthy of you." Tristan said putting his arm round her.

"Well to me, you're a prince… my Chilton prince" She smiled.

"Maybe I should take lessons from William and Harry?"

"Nah you're doing good just the way you are."

Tristan smiled and gave her a kiss.

* * *

After the dinner, everyone relaxed in the lobby and library for a while. Luke was sat by himself in the dining room while waiting for Lorelai to return from the kitchen when suddenly he spotted Babette and Miss Patty heading towards him. "Oh great…" He muttered.

"Hey gorgeous!" Babette said sitting next to him while Miss Patty at the other side of him.

"Hey… Babette… how's it going?" He said uncomfortably.

"We're so happy you and Lorelai are back together." Miss Patty gushed. "You two belong together."

"Uh, yeah thanks." He said awkwardly.

"So when are you going to, you know…" Miss patty asked with some sort of indication, it made Luke confused none the less.

"Uh going to what…?"

"Make an honest woman out of her? You know, propose!" Babette asked.

"What? Don't you think it's a little too soon for those kind of topics?" Luke asked shocked.

"Well we know you were apart for a bit but you and Lorelai have known each other for years! What matter is time when you have eternity together?" Babette exclaimed.

"Yeah, the town would love a wedding!" Miss Patty said.

"Hey Luke? I think mom was looking for you." Rory said appearing in front of him.

"OK. Sorry ladies, looks like I have to go." He said getting up, grateful for Rory's interference.

"Just think about it." Babette said.

Luke walked away with Rory. "Thank you." He said gratefully.

"You looked trapped." Rory grinned.

"I was." He said.

"So what are you meant to think about?" She asked.

"Oh it's nothing. Just one of their insane ideas. You know how the gossips are." He said, shrugging it off. He didn't want to talk about it with Rory yet, he'd be lying if he said he hadn't thought about it but with others offering their opinions and questions, it caught him off-guard.

"Oh OK. Well, we're going to head up to our room now. Can you tell mom?" Rory asked.

"Oh yeah. Sure." He nodded.

"Night Luke." She smiled.

"Night." He said watching the three of them head upstairs. Luke was once again left to himself, hoping that no one else bothered him for the evening, his mind was muddled and overwhelmed with wedding and proposal suggestions, which lead on to further subjects of kids and the imagery of a big house and kids and Lorelai as his wife. He stayed like that for the best of an hour, that is until he felt someone's presence from behind him and wrap their arms around his torso.

"Hey, watch-ya thinking about? You looked pretty far away there." Lorelai asked

Luke turned around to face her, mimicking her actions of wrapping his arms around her. "Oh just stuff, things to order at the diner and crap." Luke lied.

"Oh good, I was hoping you weren't still stewing about Rory being up there with her boyfriend."

"Nah I talked to Rory, we're good and there's the bonus of who her neighbors are for the night."

"Oh yeah, well do you want to know the other bonus of those certain types being on one of the building when we are furthest away on the opposite side." She asked in a sultry tone.

"And what's that?"

"The amount of fun we can have in our private room and no one can hear or disturb us."

"What kind of fun did you have in mind?"

"The kind of fun where you get to see my brand new lacy red thong I bought from Victoria secret the other day… that maybe if you're a good boy, you can take off me if you want… with your teeth." she tantalizingly said and she knew that hit Luke in a certain spot.

"Well I'm ready to go to bed, are you?" he immediately said making Lorelai giggle.

They proceeded to walk to their suite arm in arm. Luke was pretty happy with everything, even the thoughts that still colluded his mind, he would love to marry Lorelai.

"Hey Lorelai? You know I love you right?"

"Back at-ya babe" she said kissing him only on the cheek so they didn't lose their wits in the middle of the corridor.

* * *

 **So yeap... thats all you've waiting for... does anyone even read this anymore... :/ I know its my fault not updating often enough... sigh.**


	29. Chapter 29

Ok Ok Ok im sorry, life is just blah and hectic and busy. I get paid very little so I end up doing overtime and end up working nearly 50 hours a week, plus I have actually been getting photography/videography jobs which is shocking but when you have time look up **Louise MacKay Creative** on _**facebook**_ , and click like... shameless promoting here.

But is chapter 29 if there are still any readers left out there... totally my fault I know.

* * *

" **What kind of fun did you have in mind?"**

" **The kind of fun where you get to see my brand new lacy red thong I bought from Victoria secret the other day… that maybe if you're a good boy, you can take off me if you want… with your teeth." she tantalizingly said and she knew that hit Luke in a certain spot.**

" **Well I'm ready to go to bed, are you?" he immediately said making Lorelai giggle.**

 **They proceeded to walk to their suite arm in arm. Luke was pretty happy with everything, even the thoughts that still colluded his mind, he would love to marry Lorelai.**

" **Hey Lorelai? You know I love you right?"**

" **Back at-ya babe" she said kissing him only on the cheek so they didn't lose their wits in the middle of the corridor.**

Back in the teen's room, the three of them relaxed, putting the TV on. Rory went into the bathroom to get ready while Tristan noticed Jess sitting in the corner, reading. "So what sort of things are you into, Jess?" Tristan asked.

Jess looked up surprised. "What?"

"What sort of things are you into? I mean I know you love reading." He said gesturing to his books.

"Um yeah..." Jess said, surprised he was taking an interest in him. "I like writing too." He admitted.

"Cool. Like books?" Tristan asked.

"Maybe, I'm not that good yet but hopefully in the future I could maybe write a book, at the moment its more just scribbles." He said. "I mean I know it's more like a hobby and people say I should think of doing something proper for my future but I like it." He shrugged.

"Who would say that?" Tristan asked.

"My mom." Jess said.

"Oh. So what does she do?" Tristan said.

"Last I heard she just got fired from her bar tending job."

"Well no offense I wouldn't listen to her based on that little fact, but honestly you should do something you enjoy. My dad wants me to join his company after college but I don't want to. I know it's not the same, and we have different backgrounds but who cares what parents think or want."

Jess looked up. "Yeah I guess, although I'd admit, and I'll deny it if you tell anyone, I do care what Luke thinks and wants, and maybe Lorelai too." He said.

Rory then came out of the bathroom and sat down next to Tristan. "Anything good on?" She asked.

"Nah nothing." He said switching it off.

"Is that nothing good on you would like or nothing good on I would like? Because you know I love most programmes." Rory joked.

"There's nothing good on." He smirked.

Rory rolled her eyes. "OK, bible boy!" She joked.

"Back with the nicknames eh Mary?" He joked back.

Rory smirked. "Bible boy suits you."

"Oh yeah because I look like the bearded sandal-wearing messiah"

"What can I say, I'm different to all your past girlfriends." She replied with a kiss.

Jess watched them from his chair and had to admit that they were good together. Rory was just herself with Tristan and he could tell Tristan loved her. He got up. "I'm going to use the bathroom. You two kids going to behave?" He smirked which resulted in a pillow in the face from Rory.

"Hey!" He said indignantly, throwing the pillow back at her and disappearing into the bathroom.

"Can you believe that?" Rory said in mock astonishment.

"Well…." Tristan smirked.

"My boyfriend's ganging up on me?" Rory gasped. "I can't believe you! You'll have to grovel to get back into my good books." She pouted.

Tristan smirked and leaned forward giving her a loving kiss.

"That'll do it." She smiled leaning in to kiss him again.

"Keep it PG out there!" Jess called from the bathroom.

"How do you even know we're doing anything?" Rory called.

"It's gone unusually quiet! So you have about two more minutes of lovey dovey crap before I come out with the Jaws of Life to pry you two apart" He called back.

Tristan chuckled. "Two minutes huh?" he said giving Rory a devious smile.

* * *

A month went by and life for the citizens of Stars Hollow breezed easily into spring. Soon it was time for the annual bid a basket auction, and as normal, Lorelai and Rory were taking part. Lorelai was hoping for some casual labor as Luke refused to take part in a crazy town event, while Tristan was standing with Jess waiting to bid on Rory's basket.

The auction began promptly and Taylor took the opportunity to pick Lorelai's basket first as his way of shamelessly marketing his Doose's basket. Jess and Tristan both smirked when Kirk started bidding on it, the thought of Kirk doing manual labor at the Gilmore house was a scary yet hilarious visual image, however Lorelai's eyes widen as all these other men she didn't exactly know started bidding it.

"Be right back." Jess said to Tristan and went to the diner.

The ringing of the bell sounded and Luke saw his nephew walk in with his typical smirk. "How's it going out there?" Luke asked casually.

"Uhh, well Kirk started bidding on Lorelai's basket… and now these other guys are bidding on her basket too."

"Really?"

"Yep but they're all weird. Kirk included." Jess said.

Luke was quiet for a minute then hastily opened his till, taking out some cash and yelling "Caesar, hold the fort!" before heading towards the door.

"What are you doing?" Jess asked.

"Going to get my girl." He said.

Jess smirked, _Atta boy Uncle Luke,_ he thought and followed him out there, taking his place next to Tristan again.

"$42.50, any other offers?" Taylor asked.

"Fifty Dollars and you can leave it at that!" Luke said.

Lorelai turned around and beamed as she saw Luke.

"Luke that is not how this works! I have to keep going until there is only one bidder left. OK any other bids over fifty dollars?" Taylor asked.

Luke menacingly glared at all the men who all decided to back down.

"OK, sold for fifty dollars to the grumpy diner owner, enjoy your slim Jim and stale pop tarts." Taylor said.

"Can it Taylor!" Luke grunted and went forward to get the basket. He then joined Lorelai.

"You're my hero!" Lorelai grinned.

"Good to know." Luke said.

"Honestly, I thought I was going to have to eat with Kirk!" She exclaimed dramatically.

Luke smirked and gave her a peck.

It was now Rory's turn as her basket was held up. "Ooh that's mine!" Rory said standing next to her mom and Luke.

"Ok $3 anyone?" Taylor asked.

"Hey!" Rory said indignantly.

"$5!" Tristan said.

"Ooh he's good!" Lorelai said. Rory looked back and smiled at Tristan.

"$10." A voice then said.

Rory's eyes widened. "No, oh god no… what is he doing!" She said when she saw it was Dean. She turned to her mom. "He can't win it!" She said desperately.

"What the hell?" Tristan said.

"Who is that?" Jess asked.

"Dean, he's Rory's ex-boyfriend." Tristan said. "He's a jerk. Rory broke up with him and then he tried to win her back when her mom was in hospital but she said no so he said these really hurtful things about Rory and Lorelai."

"Well are you just going to stand here and let him do this?" Jess said realizing he hadn't given another bid.

"Hell no, $15!" Tristan called.

"$20." Dean retorted.

"I hate this, money isn't an issue for me but I don't want Rory to think that she's just some prize we want to win." Tristan said angrily. He also didn't want to flaunt his money in front of everyone else, this town wasn't like the rich lands of Hartford.

"Well I'm sure she'd rather be won by you than by Dean!" Jess said. "Look at her!"

Tristan looked over at Rory who was looking worried and upset. "$50!" He called.

"$60!" Dean called.

"$70."

"$80."

"Does he even have eighty dollars? Ugh whatever, $90." Tristan said confidently.

Dean hesitated for a bit and then backed down and the basket was sold to Tristan. Tristan went to collect the basket while Jess headed over to Dean. "You're a pathetic loser you know that right?" Jess told him.

"Jess…" Rory said.

Dean snorted. "And what's it to you?"

"Rory's my friend. Why act like a jealous ex-boyfriend? She's clearly moved on." Jess said.

Tristan came back with the basket. "He's not worth it, Jess." He said.

Dean snorted. "I bet you like her too! That's why you're doing the honorable thing and defending her even though you're just as angry that she's with that jerk than I am."

"I wouldn't go after someone else's girl. Besides, I'm living with her, she's practically a cousin, so it would be kind of wrong and weird." Jess said. "Besides the only jerk who's here is you."

"Yeah and the only slut around here is Rory." Dean snapped and audible gasps could be heard around them, they were quickly gaining more and more audience members with every slur. "You wait until you tell her you love her and she can't even say it back!" He snapped at Tristan.

"Well too bad, because she's said it to me." Tristan said, glaring at Dean.

"Well that just shows she'll go with anyone. Just like her mother." Dean said maliciously with murmurs of disgust coming from the watchers.

Jess glared at him and clenched his fist. He then felt Luke's hand on his shoulder. "Don't." He said.

"You heard what he said!" Jess protested.

"I know. But trust me. Don't." Luke said.

Jess huffed but unclenched his fist. Luke looked at Dean who suddenly straightened up a bit. "I think it's time you get going. I may have stopped Jess from punching you but if you ever say anything like that about Rory or Lorelai again, I won't be stopping my nephew or anyone else who tries to defend my girls and I too won't be held responsible for my actions." He said deadly serious.

Dean glared at him for a moment but then backed down. He had to admit he was intimidated by Luke. He huffed but turned his back and started walking away.

"Oh and you're banned from the diner." Luke called.

Tristan turned to Rory. "I'm sorry." He said.

"For what?" Rory asked confused.

"I didn't want you to feel like just a prize being won." He said. "I didn't want to flaunt my money around, I know you're not like the other girls at Chilton, you deserve better than that."

"Well I'm glad you did." Rory smiled giving him a kiss. "Thank you."

Tristan gave her a small smile and placed a cute peck on the tip of her nose.

Rory then hugged Luke. "Thanks."

"No problem." He said.

She then turned to Jess. "You want to join us on the picnic?" She asked.

"Oh no it's fine." He said surprised.

"We don't mind, do we?" Rory said looking at Tristan.

"Not at all." He said sincerely.

"It's OK. I need to go cover the diner anyway. You lovebirds go have fun." He smirked.

Rory laughed but then surprised him with a hug. "Cousin huh? Well thanks." She said quietly.

Jess just nodded.

"Yeah we owe you." Tristan said.

"Nah you don't." Jess said. "I'll see you later." He said heading back to the diner.

The two couples then went off to have their picnics.

* * *

While Lorelai and Luke were leaving, Sookie ran up to them with Jackson following behind her. "Guess what!" She bellowed.

"What?" Lorelai asked.

"We're engaged!" Sookie exclaimed excitedly, holding up her finger with her ring.

"Oh my god!" Lorelai squealed. "Oh, my god! That's so great! I'm so happy for you guys!" She beamed hugging Sookie. She then hugged Jackson. "Congratulations!"

"Thanks." Jackson smiled bashfully.

"Yeah congratulations pal." Luke shook his hand.

Luke left Lorelai with them to gossip and gabble till their hearts desired without resulting in a head ache for him so he headed to the diner. He went straight up to the apartment and sat down on the old bed he had left up there. His thoughts were overwhelmed with one topic and had been for quite some time, like the universe was telling him something. The first was the hint of Chris and Rachel getting engaged, as strange and yet kismet as the pairing could be he was honestly happy for the two of them, they suited each other.

The next hint was the wedding themed movie marathon Lorelai and Rory were having one night featuring 'Runaway Bride', 'Muriel's Wedding', and 'Four Weddings and a Funeral', then there was those questions from Patty and Babette at the Bracebridge Dinner and now two friends he's known for years have gotten engaged, the bride being Lorelai's best friend.

He couldn't take it anymore, he thought ' _OK universe, enough, I get it'_. He was getting antsy and decided to open the safe sitting in the corner of the apartment to just get a glimpse of the very he thing needed to put his plan in motion… that is until Jess interrupted.

"What are you doing?" Jess asked behind him.

"Geez Jess! Make a noise" Luke said.

"Sorry. You know you don't live here anymore right? Can't hide up here." Jess smirked.

"I'm just getting something out of the safe." Luke said, getting out a small velvet box.

"What?" Jess asked. He then saw the box. "Oh." He said surprised. "So you're going to…?"

"I want to. I've wanted to for such a long time, but I need to talk to some people first." He said. He looked up at Jess. "Including you."

"Me? What do I have to do with this?" Jess asked surprised.

"You're part of the family. I want to know you'd be OK with this, I never did ask how you're holding up living with myself and the two girls, away from the big city of new York in this weird small town. Must be a bit of a culture shock, and if she says yes then it will be the start of everything new." He said.

Jess was stunned. His mom never asked him about her boyfriends, nor cared about his living arrangements.

"Jess?" Luke said.

"I…uh…yeah I'd be OK with it, I was starting to wonder if it were ever gonna happen to be honest, but what do you mean by start of everything new?" Jess said.

"Well, we'd get married, have more kids, probably need a bigger house since ours is cramped already and I don't plan on sending you back to New York anytime soon if that's what you're thinking. Then maybe with a house we'd have the picket white fence so then probably get a dog because it would be a good thing for the kids..." Luke trailed on as he was imagining his perfect little world.

"Sounds like you've got it all figured out, so who else are you going to talk to?" Jess asked.

"Well Rory first. And then her parents." He said.

"Her parents too? That's so Brady bunch. When are you going to do it?" He asked.

"I'm not sure yet. I want to make it special." Luke said.

"She'd be an idiot if she didn't say yes." Jess gave him a small smile.

"Thanks." Luke said.

"I better go back down and leave you to your Step-ford dream." Jess said leaving the apartment, he looked back at his uncle who was dreamily staring at the box that was now open with the ring sparkling inside, Jess was truly happy for Luke.

* * *

The next afternoon at the Grounds of Chilton, Rory and Tristan were heading out of school together chatting and laughing, most likely at something Paris had done. Tristan looked up and had stopped his conversation for he saw Luke and his truck in the Parking lot. Part of him panicked thinking something had happened to Lorelai again but he didn't look in distress so he must be OK, Rory however was too busy fossicking through her bag to notice her father figure.

"Were you expecting Luke?" Tristan asked.

"What?" Rory asked confused still looking in her bag.

Tristan pointed to Luke who was standing by his truck awkwardly, he was missing his usual attire of flannel and baseball cap and was wearing a simple button up shirt with the dress pants Lorelai had bought him over a year ago.

"No, maybe he had a meeting with the bank or something." Rory said confused. They walked up to him. "Hey Luke!" She smiled.

"Hey Rory." He said awkwardly. "Tristan." He nodded at him.

"Luke." Tristan said.

"What are you doing here? Is mom OK?" Rory asked.

"Oh yeah she's fine, don't worry. I was just wondering if I could take you for a coffee or something. I want to talk to you about something." He said awkwardly.

"Oh well Tristan and I were…" She started.

"Forget about it, it seems important." Tristan said, having just an inkling of what it could be about. "I'll call you later." He smiled giving her a quick peck.

"OK. Bye." She smiled, watching Tristan walk off.

"Sorry, I didn't want to ruin your plans." Luke said, kicking himself for not checking first if she was free.

"Oh no it's fine. We were just going to hang out but we can do that anytime." Rory smiled.

"OK." Luke said. "Um well let's go then." He said going round to the passenger side and helping her in.

* * *

The two sitting in a coffee shop not far from Chilton. Rory looked up at Luke who hadn't said anything for a while but was clearly nervous about something. "Are you OK?" She asked.

"What? Oh yeah I'm fine." He said.

"You just seem not yourself and don't look much like yourself either, so what's going on?"

 _Just do it!_ He took a deep breath. "I want to ask you something actually." He said.

"OK…" Rory replied.

"Um well you know I love your mom…" He started awkwardly.

"Kind of got that memo years ago. Even before she got it." Rory joked.

Luke chuckled. "Well I want to ask her something but I wanted to talk to you first. I wanted your permission and blessing." He admitted.

Rory started getting excited, having a feeling she knew where this was going. She smiled. "Oh OK continue."

Luke could see the excitement in her eyes, he decided to discretely pull out the velvet box containing the ring to show her. "I would like your permission and blessing to ask your mom to marry me."

Rory's eyes filled with tears and looked down at the ring and covered her mouth, for she was gobsmacked.

Luke didn't know if the tears were good or bad so his nerves jittered even higher than earlier. "Only if it's OK with you of course." He stumbled.

Rory squealed. "Of course it's OK with me!" She beamed and went over to his side of the table and hugged him.

Luke relaxed a bit then. "Really?"

"I can't believe you actually asked my permission." Rory said, touched by his thoughtfulness. "You normally ask the parents that."

He chuckled. "Yeah I'm going to ask them but I wanted to talk to you first. You and your mom come as a package deal." He said.

Rory smiled. "Mom's going to be so happy. Especially once she sees this ring, where did you get it, its beautiful!" She said excitedly.

"Actually it was my mother's." He explained. "I've had it since she died. I got it out of the safe yesterday and had it polished and cleaned up right before I picked you up."

"Oh." Rory said understanding. "Mom's going to treasure that." She smiled.

"Yeah, I mean if she says yes." He said.

"She'd say yes in a heartbeat. I know she would." Rory assured him.

"Really?" He asked hopefully.

"I know mom. I know you went through that awful time but she loves you so much. She'd marry you tomorrow if she could." Rory said.

Luke smiled. "Good, I'd marry her tomorrow too. First I just have to ask her."

"When are you going to do it? How are you going to do it?" Rory asked.

"Well I want to go to ask your grandparents first. But hopefully if I get their blessing, I could do it tonight. I have an idea about how to do it but I'll need your help keeping your mom away from the house." He said.

"You can count on me." Rory grinned.

"Good." Luke smiled. "Now drink up your liquid death and then we can head to your grandparents."

* * *

They arrived at the Gilmore Mansion not long after since they were in the area. Luke rang the doorbell and Rory intended to stay by his side. Emily un-expectantly answered the door rather than the maid. "Rory! Luke!" She said surprised. "Were we expecting you?"

"No, sorry we didn't call." Luke said. "It was a spur of the moment thing. But I need to… I would like to talk to you and Mr Gilmore."

"Well alright." Emily said intrigued. She went to get Richard from his study and they all sat down on the sofa, Emily and Richard on one, Luke and Rory opposite them.

Luke took a deep breath. He looked at Rory who gave him an encouraging smile and placing a quick pat on his shoulder. He turned back to them. "Mr Gilmore, Mrs Gilmore…" He started.

"Oh please, it's Richard and Emily." Richard said.

"OK, Richard and Emily. I am here today to ask your permission and blessing." He said, taking a deep breath. "I love your daughter so much. I want to ask her for her hand in marriage, I've wanted to for a long time now, but I wanted to get your permission and blessing first, I believe it's the right thing to do." He said.

There was silence for a moment and then Richard smiled warmly. "I really appreciate you coming to us, Luke. Not many men do that nowadays, it shows you're a true gentlemen and have respect for my wife and I." He said. "So in that case, of course you have my blessing."

"Thank you Sir." Luke said gratefully. He then turned to Emily who wasn't saying anything, only staring into nowhere in particular, clearly the gears turning through her head. "Emily?" He said. "I know we were apart for a while but you know why that is. I really love your daughter. I want to spend the rest of my life with her." He said sincerely.

"Grandma, please…" Rory said quietly.

Emily looked over at Rory, surprised by hearing her voice, and saw her hopeful face.

"Please." Rory said. "I really want Luke to be my step-father, he even asked for my blessing before we arrived here and I wholeheartedly gave it to him.

"You did? He asked you too?" Emily asked.

Rory nodded with a beaming smile. "But he won't ask mom if you don't give your blessing."

Emily turned to Luke surprised. "You wouldn't?"

Luke shook his head. "If you don't want me to ask, I'd be really disappointed but I wouldn't ask and we would carry on as we have been. You're her parents and despite of how strained your relationship has been in the past she believe it or not values what you have to say. Look I know I don't come from your world, but I own my own business I make more than enough to take care of your girls, I do my best to make sure they are safe, fed, warm and happy, I love Lorelai more than you can imagine, and I think of Rory as if she were my own… not that I am trying to replace Christopher, but having another person to care for her and love her isn't exactly a bad thing is it." He said.

Emily looked at him and then at Rory who had been looking in awe at Luke and never heard him be so articulate before, she then saw Rory turn towards Emily looking at her with a hopeful stare. She then gave him a small smile with a simple nod. "You can ask her." She said quietly.

Rory let out a big breath and beamed at Luke who was obviously relieved as well.

"Thank you." Luke said sincerely. "I will do my best to make her happy."

"I know you will, I can see you already do." Emily stated.

Luke nodded "Well that's all we came for, sorry for disrupting your day so we best get out of your hair and put the next part of the plan into motion, right Rory?" he said standing up.

"Oh yes! Wait that's happening tonight?" she asked.

"I don't think I could wait another day to be truthful."

"No neither could I" she replied then turned to the elder Gilmore's "Bye grandma, bye grandpa I'll see you on Friday."

"Take care Rory dear" Emily said. "Oh and Luke, could you please do me a favor?"

"Uh sure Emily, what is it?"

"Could you… could you please have Lorelai call us when it happens?" She asked very softly, this would be a big moment in her only daughter's life and she wanted to somehow be a part of it.

Luke's face softened knowing why she had asked that. "Of course Emily, I'll tell her, that's if she says yes…"

"Thank you Luke, and we all know she will, so no need to worry."

* * *

Later that evening, Rory had gone to the inn to make sure her mom stayed at there until the time Luke had said. She distracted her with tales of her day then asking if she could stay for a bit to do her homework rather than doing it at the house. Lorelai agreed seeing she had to sign the pay checks for her staff anyhow. Eventually it was 7 and Lorelai drove them home, none the wiser. They entered the house, hanging up their coats as per usual.

"Lucy we're home!" Lorelai called from the foyer.

"Kitchen" he called back.

They began heading towards the kitchen and stopped at the living room.

"Oh my god…" Lorelai said stunned. It was set up exactly the same way as their first date. There was a candlelit table and candles around the room. He had also gotten the fire going with cushions and blankets laid out on the floor, the difference was there was an insane amount of long stemmed roses in vases among the candles around the room and petals scattered on the floor.

"Wow…" Rory said equally as stunned.

Luke then appeared from the kitchen. "Hey…" He smiled giving her a kiss.

A kiss she gratefully returned with one of her killer smiles. "What is all this?"

"I thought I'd make us a meal. We haven't had a proper date in a while. I wanted to make that up to you." Luke said.

"Luke this… this is AMAZING! Whatever possessed you to go all out like this?"

"Like I said, it had been a while and I felt like doing it, because you deserve it… does it look familiar?"

"It looks like our very first date, the only difference is the missing medical bed and cast on my leg but way more roses. You sir are a man of many mysteries." She said giving him a tender romantic kiss.

Jess then came downstairs in his coat. "Aah geez can't you wait till I leave the house for that?"

Luke gave him a sly look with a smirk "Can you hurry?"

Jess then spotted Rory. "You and I are going out so we're not part of whatever mushy stuff goes on, I'll make you something at the diner." He said. "Coming?"

Rory looked at him suspiciously but followed him after giving Luke a secret smile and grabbing her coat. She followed Jess down the porch. "You knew!" She accused him.

Jess smirked. "Yup"

"Luke asked you first?" Rory asked.

Jess shook his head. "I caught him taking the ring out of the safe so he told me. He wanted to talk to you first." He said.

"Oh man, I can't believe he recreated their first date. That's so sweet." Rory smiled.

* * *

After Lorelai and Luke had finished the main course, they sat down on the blanket and cushions Luke had laid out for them, snuggling into one another's embrace.

"This was nice." Lorelai smiled

"Good." Luke smiled back. "But we're still not quite done"

"We're not?"

"Did Lorelai Gilmore forget about dessert?"

Lorelai gasped and sat up in excitement. "There's dessert too! Gimmie gimmie, what is it?"

Luke pull over a tray of chocolate covered strawberries he had prepared earlier and placed it in front of her.

"Ooh Yumm-" She started to say, until something caught her eye. Luke had place the velvet box with the lid open in the center of the tray, surrounded by the strawberries. She once again gasped in surprise for the umpteenth time that night. "Luke is that-" she couldn't finish the sentence, she knew what it was but was in shock.

He looked at her, and picked up the box. "Lorelai, I want you to know that I love you so much. I know we've had our ups and downs but I will never stop loving you." He said sincerely.

Lorelai felt tears prick her eyes. "Oh Luke…" She said softly. "I love you too."

"I can't imagine a day that goes by without you in it, you're my whole world, you and Rory are everything I need and I want to spend the rest of my life with you." He said. He took a deep breath and knelt on one knee in front of her and held one of her hands while the other was holding the ring which her gaze was fixed on.

"Oh my god…" Lorelai said, tears falling down her face.

"Lorelai, I am all in. I will always be all in. I love you and I love Rory and any other kids we may or may not have, if I can't have you I don't think I'll be able to breathe, you are my life." He said "So Lorelai Victoria Gilmore, will you marry me?" He asked.

* * *

 **So I hope that was worth the wait :/**  
 **please please please oh please review :) and feel free to keyboard smash me about your excitement of the revival.**

 **Oh and pretty please look up _Louise MacKay Creative_ on _Facebook_ and click like to get traffic flowing :)**


	30. Chapter 30

_OK OK OK OK I am SOOO SO SO SO SORRY FOR THE DELAY._

 _My life is just UgH! First I was too busy working 50 hours a week, then I started to get sick of being bullied at work by the asshole of a team leader who caught wiff that I was going to formally complain and because I was a temp I don't apparently have rights so he ended my contract which he could do at any time he wanted for any reason... so now I don't have a job or money or a life, just a useless piece of paper called a degree that cost me $40,000 and I've just been wallowing in my dark cave of a room wrapped in the blanket of pathetic-ness and throwing a pity party..._

 _oh and have been helping/editing/kind of co-writing Elang4 with the lost and found story._

 _Anywhoo this chapter is doubly long for you._

* * *

 **Lorelai felt tears prick her eyes. "Oh Luke…" She said softly. "I love you too."**

" **I can't imagine a day that goes by without you in it, you're my whole world, you and Rory are everything I need and I want to spend the rest of my life with you." He said. He took a deep breath and knelt on one knee in front of her and held one of her hands while the other was holding the ring which her gaze was fixed on.**

" **Oh my god…" Lorelai said, tears falling down her face.**

" **Lorelai, I am all in. I will always be all in. I love you and I love Rory and any other kids we may or may not have, if I can't have you I don't think I'll be able to breathe, you are my life." He said "So Lorelai Victoria Gilmore, will you marry me?" He asked.**

"Oh my god…w…wow" Lorelai whispered to herself.

Luke started to doubt his actions. He leant back out of the bubble he had created. "I'm sorry. Maybe this is too soon. I know we said we would go slow after everything that has happ-"

"No, no Luke." Lorelai said cutting him off. "I'm sorry. I was just surprised."

"Yeah well that's what I was going for, here… tonight."

"I'm glad you did" she said beaming. "But are you sure about this?"

"Am I-" he scoffed "Lorelai do I need to repeat that speech again? Look put it this way… It's like my life isn't even real to me unless you're there, and you're in it, and I'm sharing it with you, and this is how I want to share it with you… forever." He passionately stated.

"Oh wow…"

"Lorelai…"

"Ask me again" she repeated.

"What?"

"Ask me again." She said. "Please."

Luke got back into his position as he were before, on one knee. "Lorelai Gilmore, will you marry me?"

Lorelai smiled. "Of course I will."

Luke let out a breath and smiled. "Really?"

"I love you. I've never been surer about something in all my life. I just wanted to make sure that you were sure." Lorelai smiled.

Luke grinned and took the ring out and put it on her finger and then kissed her. "Well I am sure, and I love you too."

Lorelai smiled and inspected the ring. "Luke, this is beautiful." She said softly.

"It was my mother's." Luke admitted.

"What?" Lorelai asked surprised.

"My dad gave it to me when he was sick, he knew deep down there was no coming back from his sickness and began to get his affairs in order, starting with this. He told me to give it to the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with." He smiled.

Lorelai was touched. "I won't let anything bad happen to it."

Luke smiled and put his arm round her and they snuggled on the blanket in front of the fire for a while.

Rory and Jess returned a couple of hours later. They smiled when they saw Luke and Lorelai cuddled on the floor in front of the sofa looking into the flaming embers, immersed in each other's embrace.

"Hey…" Rory smiled.

"Hey hon." Lorelai grinned at her daughter like the Cheshire cat.

"I take it by your goofy grins that he finally asked then?" Jess smirked.

Rory elbowed him. "Jess!"

"Hang on a minute, you two knew?" Lorelai said indignantly.

"Luke asked for my permission and blessing." Rory smiled.

"Yeah and I sort of caught him taking the ring out of the safe." Jess informed them.

Lorelai looked at Luke. "You asked Rory for permission?" She asked.

"Well yeah. She's in this too. I didn't want to do anything she wasn't comfortable with." Luke shrugged.

Lorelai smiled and gave him a kiss. "You're amazing." She said softly.

"And on that note, we're out of here." Jess said.

"What? Where?" Luke asked looking up.

"We thought you might want to celebrate your engagement without the limitations of teenagers in the house so Lane said we can stay over at hers." Rory smiled. "We just came back to get some stuff."

"You don't have to do that." Luke said.

"It's fine." Rory said. "You should celebrate, and since I'm such a selfless daughter giving up my bed so you can get some, in return I would like no gory details of anything happening once I leave this house."

"Yeah I second that, especially since I'd be right next door to you, it's bad enough growing up with Liz, I'd rather not hear those things from my uncle and future aunt." Jess smirked.

"Ah geez! Jess!" Luke, Lorelai and Rory simultaneously groaned.

"It's what you were all thinking!" Jess smirked.

"How'd you manage to let Mrs Kim let you stay over anyway?" Luke asked Jess.

"A bit of charm." Jess smirked.

"Hmm..." Luke said.

"You ate her tofu cakes and offered to dust the shop for an hour?" Lorelai asked knowingly.

"Yup now I think I need a late night run to Doose's for something to get the taste of baked soy out of my mouth." he said with a mischievous grin.

"Stay away from Taylor, he'd be calling here if he sees you at this time of the night."

"Well I can always stay if you want…" Jess rolled his eyes.

"Ugh No, you go." Lorelai smiled. "And thanks."

Rory smiled and then went to hug her mom. "Congratulations! You deserve this. Both of you." She smiled giving Luke a hug as well.

"Thanks hon." Lorelai smiled.

"Yeah thanks." Luke second his fiancé.

"Yeah congrats... see you later Luke, Aunty Lorelai…" Jess said.

They then went to get some stuff before leaving to go to Lane's.

"Wanna go celebrate like they do on the discovery channel?" Lorelai grinned.

Luke smirked. "Ahhh geez… Let's go."

Not long after that, they were both lying in bed cuddled up to one another.

"Mmmm, that was some good celebrating." Lorelai smirked.

"It was at that." Luke said.

"We should get engaged more often."

"Well I'm hoping we'd only have to get engaged once otherwise we would be facing the wrath of the town."

"Speaking of which, how or when do we tell them?" Lorelai asked

"Deal with that later." Luke replied. They were quiet for a moment before Luke turned to Lorelai. "I think there is someone else you need to call right about now though." He said.

Lorelai looked at him. "Who?"

"Your parents?" He said.

Lorelai sighed. "My dad's away on a business trip today." She tried to make an excuse.

"Is he?" Luke asked surprised, since he had seen earlier him that day.

"Yeah, he was meant to leave this evening." She said.

"Oh right. Maybe he hasn't left yet, besides your mom is home right?" He asked.

"Can't I just be happy for one night?" She groaned.

"Lorelai, you've been getting on well with them recently. Come on, you have to admit that." Luke said.

"Yeah I guess…"

"I'm sure they would appreciate it."

"Fine." Lorelai sighed. She got up and started getting dressed.

"What are you doing?" Luke asked.

"Well if my father is still there, I so don't want to be speaking to either of them whilst naked, and I'm about to ring my mother. She will know if I'm naked." She exclaimed.

"How?" Luke asked.

"Just trust me." Lorelai said.

"Ok…" Luke utter confused but he didn't mind as the main thing was that Lorelai was calling her parents like Emily had asked.

"Hello?" Emily answered.

"Oh mom hi!" Lorelai said surprised that she answered the phone.

"Lorelai?" Emily asked.

"Yeah who else calls you mom?" Lorelai asked.

"Is everything ok?" She seemed concerned. "It's quite late."

"Oh yeah, sorry mom. Everything's fine." Lorelai assured her. "I just have something to share with you... and dad if he's still there" She said nervously.

"He's about to leave but I'm sure he has enough time for this." Emily said wondering if it was going to be what she thought it was. "He's in his study, I'll just put you on speaker in there, one moment."

Emily strode into her husband's study, Richard was at his desk going through some papers last minute deciding which he needed for this business trip.

"Ah Emily, you needn't wait up for me, it's getting late dear" he said once he noticed Emily.

"I know, but Lorelai is on the phone… she wishes to speak to both of us."

Richard stared at his wife both silent but knowing what this call entailed. "She called? Well go ahead put her on speaker." He was blindsided by the fact that Luke actually managed to come through and convince his daughter to call them.

"Lorelai, are you there, your father and I are both here" Emily declared.

Lorelai took a deep breath and glanced at Luke who gave her an encouraging smile. "Hey dad, sorry it's late and I know you're about to leave but I want to tell you something…Luke...uh…Luke proposed to me tonight. I said yes. We're engaged." She announced.

There was a silence at the end of the phone. Emily and Richard simply stared at the phone then at each other, Emily's eyes began to well up.

"Mom? Dad?" Lorelai said, she was hoping they weren't unhappy.

"I believe best wishes are in order." Emily said softly, realizing that Luke hadn't forgotten about the promise.

"Yes best wishes Lorelai, I am very happy for you." Richard said repeating his wife's sentiments.

"Thanks." Lorelai said quietly, touched at how genuine she sounded. "Um…well that's all I was calling up for. I should let you go to bed, and let dad catch his plane." Lorelai said.

"I won two gift tokens to a spa this weekend. Would you like to come with me?" Emily said.

"Wow um two gift tokens to a spa. Um…" Lorelai said surprised at the change of subject. She could see Luke hiding a smirk. "I don't know if I'm free mom…" She tried to make an excuse. "Work and stuff..."

"Well I'm sure you can have a day off work, you are the boss after all." Emily said. "Is it so bad I want to spend some time with you?" She asked. "Please." She added quietly.

Lorelai sighed. "Alright, I'll come."

"Good. I'll pick you up on Saturday then." Emily said.

"Great." Lorelai sighed.

"Goodbye Lorelai." Emily said.

"Bye mom. Have a safe flight dad."

Lorelai hung up and she saw Luke smirking at her. "Yeah alright!" She said. "That was your fault! I now have to spend a weekend at some spa with my mother."

"Is that really going to be so bad? I mean how did she react when you told her we were engaged?" Luke said.

"She said best wishes." Lorelai admitted. "And she actually sounded genuine."

"There you go then." Luke said. "You may even have a nice time."

"Maybe…" Lorelai said getting back into bed.

Saturday soon came and Rory woke up to Luke calling up to her mom. She came out of her room. "What's going on?" She asked sleepily.

"Your mom's stalling." Luke said.

Rory laughed. She heard a car drive into their driveway and she went to look out of the window. "Cool!" She grinned. "Mom, Grandma's here! And your limo!"

"What?" Lorelai exclaimed rushing downstairs.

"Take a look yourself." Rory smirked.

Lorelai and Luke went to the window and Luke chuckled. "She is taking you in style." He joked.

"Shut up you!" Lorelai said playfully hitting him. "So what have you two and Jess got planned tonight then?"

"Probably a quiet one." Rory said. "I managed to stop Paris from coming over to study."

"That must have taken something." Lorelai joked. "What about Tristan?"

Rory glanced at Luke. "Um I don't know. I think he's busy anyway."

"Oh ok. Well you three have fun then." She said.

"Oh yeah we'll have a blast." Jess said coming down the stairs. "Have fun with mommy." He smirked.

"You're turning into Luke, you are." Lorelai said.

Luke leered and kissed her. "Try and enjoy yourself at least."

"Yeah yeah ok." Lorelai said. "Bye hon."

"Bye." Luke smiled giving her a kiss.

Lorelai then gave Rory a hug before leaving.

"Is there breakfast in the kitchen?" Jess asked.

"Yeah but don't take too long. Your shift at the diner starts soon." Luke said.

"Yes boss." He replied sarcastically.

"Jess!" Luke bellowed.

"I'll be there, don't worry." Jess said going off to the kitchen.

Luke rolled his eyes. He glanced over at Rory who had picked up a book and had started reading on the sofa. "So what are your plans for today?" He asked.

Rory shrugged. "I'll probably just hang out here." She said. "Do some studying."

Luke nodded. "You know...uh...if you want, you can invite Tristan over…" He said awkwardly.

Rory looked up. "What?"

"I...I know we had that thing at the Bracebridge Dinner but I don't want you to think you can't invite him over here because of me. Because you can. This was your home first, you need to be comfortable in it." Luke said.

Rory smiled. "It's fine, Luke. He's busy anyway..."

"Is he really or were you just telling your mom that?" he asked.

Rory smiled. "I don't want you feeling uncomfortable. It's your house too." She said.

Luke's heart swelled at that. "Rory, kid you know I love you, I want you to feel comfortable with Tristan around me as well. I overstepped the mark with that dinner and I shouldn't have. Invite him round."

Rory smiled and got up and gave him a hug. "Thanks."

"I'll cook us dinner tonight." Luke said.

"Ok." Rory smiled.

"Jess come on! Get a move on!" He called.

"Alright alright, I'm here!" Jess said appearing from the kitchen with his mouth still full.

"See you later." Luke said.

"Bye." Rory smirked. She watched them leave and smiled. She reached for her phone and dialed a familiar number. "Hey! Are you free today?" She asked.

"Might be." Tristan said on the other line.

"Do you want to come over? Spend the day with me. Mom's gone to this spa with my Grandma and Luke and Jess are at the diner. I could do with some company." She revealed.

"Now that does sound appealing." He jeered. He then thought. "And Luke is ok with it?"

"It was his suggestion. He said he'd make us some dinner tonight." Rory smiled.

"Oh. Ok." Tristan said surprised. "But I thought with everything at the inn, he…"

"He's trying to make it right." Rory said. "He's showing us he trusts us."

Tristan smiled. "I'll be right over."

"Great! See you soon!" Rory said.

Meanwhile at the spa, Emily and Lorelai were being pampered to a relaxing massage together.

"You know we didn't have to do everything together, mom…" Lorelai said.

"Lorelai, this is supposed to be a weekend together. How can we be together if we have different treatments all day?" Emily pointed out.

Lorelai sighed. "Why did you ask me to come? I'm sure one of your DAR friends would have loved it."

Emily turned her head so she was looking at Lorelai. "I thought it would be nice for us to spend some time together especially after what you told me the other night. I thought it could be a celebration. Plus life's too short. You better than anyone should know that." She said quietly.

Lorelai turned her head to face her too. "Yeah you're right. I'm sorry mom. It was really nice of you to invite me."

"You're happy aren't you?" She asked. "I mean I know you and Luke went through a…well…Bad patch. You went through a horrible ordeal…" She said cautiously.

"Mom…" Lorelai said not really wanting to bring that up.

"I just want to know that you're happy. With Luke." She said.

Lorelai smiled. "Yeah I'm very happy." She said softly.

"Well that's… Good." Emily smiled.

Lorelai was surprised. "What?"

Emily sighed. "I know I haven't exactly been all for your relationship with Luke but he's a good man. Even I can see that. He clearly loves you and Rory very much." She smiled.

Lorelai smiled back. "Thanks." She replied sincerely. "That really means a lot."

Emily gave her a small smile back. "Best wishes again."

"Thanks mom." She said softly.

"You really truly love him, don't you?"

Lorelai smiled thinking about Luke. "More than I have ever loved anyone before." She admitted quietly. "I don't think I even knew what love was, let alone true love, before I met Luke."

Emily was surprised that Lorelai was opening up so much to her but she didn't want to discourage it. "But Christopher?" She asked cautiously.

"I don't know. I guess when I was younger, I thought I loved him. He was my first boyfriend. He gave me Rory. I can't regret that, but I grew up and he didn't." She said.

"Of course not." Emily sighed softly.

"Luke is different though. God you don't even know how many guys ran a mile from me when they found out I had a kid. Or they would be nice to Rory just to get with me." Lorelai said quietly. "They made me feel like nothing." She admitted. "They made me feel like I was the worst person on earth, like just because I had a kid at 16 that I was an easy target for them, I just made one mistake, I mean I shouldn't call Rory a mistake but to other people including your friends and such, they would look at me like I had 'tramp' stamped across my forehead."

Emily felt her heart break for her daughter. "I'm…sorry." She said quietly. "I never knew."

"It's not your fault." Lorelai said. "I mean I love Rory so much. I loved the life I made for her. I was proud of that but sometimes when these guys treated me like this, it got to me sometimes, which was hard to try and not show when Rory was around because it's not her fault. That's why I love my town, the people in it obviously thought the same thing for about five seconds because that's the human response but they just embraced Rory and I for who we were and nothing more."

"And what about Luke?" Emily questioned.

Lorelai smiled at just hearing his name. "Luke was different. I told him I had a kid and he didn't bat an eyelid. He treated me the same, actually he became more protective and lovable. From the things I had heard about him when I had just met him was that he was cold and gruff and mean but I never got that, sure he could have his grumpy moments but to me he was always caring but still sarcastic. When I introduced Rory to him I could see him growing softer by the minute." She said. "His sister who is a year or two older than me was also a teen mom, she had a son. Jess, his nephew. He's actually staying with us at the moment."

"I didn't know that." Emily said surprised.

"Well he's not the most open person. His sister ran away soon after having Jess and he barely saw them, it was a rough point in their lives having lost their mom and their dad was sick at the time." Lorelai said quietly, suddenly seeing the parallels between her story and Liz's. She looked at her mom. "He was so hurt by it. He was left to take care of his dad alone and she didn't even come back for the funeral."

They were both quiet for a minute.

"Mom, I'm so sorry. I never meant to hurt you… when I ran away. I just…I didn't belong in that house. It was strangling me. I couldn't do it. I wanted to raise Rory how I wanted. I didn't want her feeling like I did." Lorelai said.

"Well it's in the past now. We have the future to focus on." Emily said giving her a small smile.

"I just want you to know. If anything had happened to either of you, I would have been there. I do care even if it seems sometimes like I don't." Lorelai said quietly.

Emily nodded. "So you were saying about Luke?" She said.

"Yeah. Well he was the first guy to not make me feel different. He treated Rory like an adult as well. He was nice to her not because he had an ulterior motive. It's because that's what he's like. He really looked out for us. He came round and practically fixed up the whole house. He made Rory mashed potato for a week when she had chicken pox and refused to eat anything else. He came to Rory's caterpillar's funeral." Lorelai smiled at the memory.

"You held a funeral for a caterpillar?" Emily asked.

Lorelai smirked. "Yeah, silly really but Rory loved the caterpillar. She was young and she wanted to say goodbye. Most of the town came actually."

Emily had to grin at that. "Well I really have heard it all now."

Lorelai laughed. "What I'm saying is that Luke had no obligation to do any of these things for us but he still did them. He was my first friend here, apart from Sookie and Mia. He's one of the good guys. I just feel stupid that I didn't realise how much he meant to me earlier. Everyone kept telling me, even Rory, but I just ignored them and said we were just friends." She said.

"And did you think you were? Just friends?" Emily said.

Lorelai sighed. "I don't know. He was my best friend. Maybe I was just worried something more would ruin that. If I did open my eyes earlier on, maybe we'd already be married… with kids but never mind that it's happening now. It was only when Rachel came back and I saw her with him that I started to get jealous. And suddenly, I saw it. The look in his eyes that everyone has been telling me about."

"I always thought there was something between you." Emily said.

Lorelai had to laugh. "Yeah ok mom. You can say it. Tell me you told me so."

Emily smirked. "Well I did."

"Yeah and I didn't listen." Lorelai then sighed. "You know the day of my accident?" She said.

Emily nodded, not wishing to say much on such a hard time.

"I was on my way back home from seeing Luke. We had just agreed to give it a go. We were so happy. The next thing I knew, I was in hospital." She expressed quietly.

"You know I was really angry at you." Emily said quietly. "When I found out you had snuck out of the house after that dinner with Chase." She was quiet for a moment. "But when I heard about your accident, I was so worried. I was so scared I'd lose you and that the last thing you'd have heard from me was some insult about your love life."

Lorelai leered. "You know that dinner sort of kicked off the thing between me and Luke. I found him sat on a bench in the square at the town festival that night. He asked me why I wasn't at your house and I told him I snuck out the window and he didn't even ask why." She laughed. "I was meant to say that's what I love about him but I ended up saying that's why I loved him. I freaked and ran, because in my heart I knew it was true but my brain automatically screamed to run."

Emily smiled. "So in a way, I did help you."

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Sure mom, let's go with that"

Emily looked over at Lorelai. "I am happy you're happy. Luke's a good man. You deserve some happiness."

"Thanks mom." Lorelai said softly. "Hey why don't we go out for dinner tonight? My treat. I need to sink my teeth into a steak and not something made from soy beans."

Emily smiled. "That'd be nice."

Back in stars hollow that evening, Rory and Tristan were hanging out at the house, watching TV when Luke and Jess arrived back from the diner.

"Hey Luke!" Rory greeted him.

"Hey Rory." He said. "Tristan." He said nodding at her.

"Hi." Tristan smiled.

"You guys hungry? We bought food."

"You really have to ask her that?" Jess smirked.

"Hey!" Rory said indignantly.

"What? You're always hungry!" Jess defended himself.

"He's kind of right." Tristan smirked.

"Hey you're supposed to be on my side!" Rory pouted at Tristan.

Tristan grinned. "Sorry. You know how honest I am though. I can't lie." He said sarcastically.

"Oh no of course not." Rory rolled her eyes.

"I'll go sort it out and call you when it's ready." Luke chuckled and went to the kitchen.

Jess went and sat in the armchair and started reading his book. Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Rory went and answered it and Paris barged in. "I know you said you were busy but I'm really freaking out about this test. I need you to help me to study."

"Paris…" Rory sighed.

"Please! I need to get a better grade on the next paper, I need it for my G.P.A and to put on application letters for college." She said going through to the living room.

"Paris…" Rory said trying to stop her.

"Oh." Paris said spotting Tristan and Jess. "I see how it is, I see you're really busy, too busy to help your friend." She said sarcastically. "I'll leave. I'm sorry to break up the party."

"No Paris wait." Rory said stopping her. She sighed. "Look, I'll study with you ok?"

"Really?" She asked surprised.

"Yeah, come on. Luke's making food. I'm sure there will be plenty for all of us." Rory said.

"Yeah come on Paris, stay." Tristan said.

"Ok but if you two make googly eyes at each other all evening, I'm going to leave." She said.

"Trust me, Luke won't let them, and if they don't want to see a second appearance of my dinner then neither will they." Jess smirked.

"Who are you?" Paris asked.

"Oh sorry. Paris this is Jess, Luke's nephew. Jess this is Paris." Rory introduced them.

"Hey." Jess said.

"Hi." She said shyly. _Well isn't he cute, in a bad boy rebel without a cause way._

Paris then sat down with them and they studied for a bit before Luke announced dinner was ready. They went into the kitchen, piled up their plates of food and gathered back in the living room, leaving Luke to clear up in the kitchen afterwards and when he walked back down the hallway, he heard them all laughing. Even Paris looked like she was actually having a nice time. Luke found himself smiling when he saw that Jess was joining in on the conversation too. He saw Tristan put his arm round Rory and Rory smiling up at him resulting in him giving her a quick kiss. He sighed. He knew he had to trust them at some point. He took a deep breath and walked in. "Rory, Jess, I'm going to call it a day ok?" He said.

"Already? It's only 9.30" Rory asked.

"Yeah are you growing old, Grandpa?" Jess smirked.

Luke rolled his eyes. "I have to get up early anyway." He said. "I mean I should get a peaceful sleep without your mom snoring like a buzz saw" he joked, and then looked at Paris and Tristan. "You two are welcome to stay the night if you want. There should be air beds in the cupboard."

Rory smiled. "Night Luke. We'll try and keep it down."

"Night." Luke smiled and headed upstairs.

Jess looked at Rory. "Ok was it me or was he actually inviting your boyfriend to stay the night?" He asked.

Rory laughed. "I think he was." She glanced at Tristan. "I think it was his way of saying he trusts us."

Tristan smiled. "I'm happy to go on the couch." He said.

"How about we all sleep in here?" Rory suggested. "It could be like a slumber party."

"Sounds fun." Tristan said.

"Yeah why not." Jess said.

"Paris?" Rory asked.

Paris gave them a small smile. "Yeah I'd like that. I just have to call my nanny."

"Cool. I'll go heat up some popcorn then and we can watch some TV." Rory smiled and got up and headed to the kitchen.

Meanwhile, out at a nice restaurant near the spa, Emily and Lorelai were enjoying a delicious meal.

"So have you decided on a date yet?" Emily asked. "Or a location?"

"Mom, we just got engaged two days ago. We haven't really spoken about details yet. I'm just letting it sink in first, let the ring make an indent on the finger and all that." Lorelai laughed.

"But you must have ideas." Emily pressed on.

Lorelai shrugged. "Yeah I guess I do… but just a few but I need to talk to Luke first."

"What ideas?" Emily asked.

"Mom…" Lorelai said.

"I'm just interested Lorelai. My only daughter is getting married. Don't I have a right to ask questions about it?" She asked.

"The one thing I do know is that we both want a small, intimate ceremony. Just family and close friends, not making it a big social affair or a business meet and greet for you and dad." Lorelai said. She looked at her mom who was listening genuinely interested. "I sort of want to have it at the inn." She admitted.

"Your inn?" Emily asked.

"How many inns do you know?" Lorelai joked.

"Lorelai!"

"Yes my inn." Lorelai said. "It's just it's a lovely place, the gardens a beautiful and you should see it in winter with the fairy lights on. Oh and Sookie can cater. Plus it will be reasonably cheap since I sort of know the boss." She joked.

"The inn would be a nice venue." Emily agreed.

"Really?" Lorelai asked.

"Yes well it has a nice garden and it obviously means a lot to you." Emily said.

"Yeah. It does." Lorelai smiled thinking back on the memories she spent there with Rory. _That's where we both grew up._

"Can I ask you one favour?" Emily asked.

Lorelai sighed. "Mom before you get any ideas I just need to say that it's mine and Luke's wedding. We don't want to go over the top." She said.

"No it's not to do with that. I was wondering, maybe you'd let your father and I pay for half or some portion of the bill, or at least you would consider letting me pay for your dress?" Emily asked quietly.

"My dress?" Lorelai asked surprised. "Mom I don't…"

"Please Lorelai. I know you won't let me get involved in the actual wedding plans but I would like to contribute something. Me and your father. It would mean so much to us." She said sincerely.

Lorelai was touched. "Ok. You can buy my dress but I choose it."

"Thank you." She said quietly.

Lorelai reached over and put her hand over her mom's. "It really means so much that you're accepting Luke. He means so much to me and Rory."

"I know he does, I've only ever wanted you to be happy, Lorelai. I agree I may have gone about it the wrong way in the past and that it may not have seemed like that. But you're my daughter." Emily said.

Lorelai smiled and for the first time, she really felt like she had connected with her mother. She had actually had a really nice day, like Luke had said she would. Maybe things will be different from now on but perhaps that was wishful thinking. "Thank you." She said softly.

They both finished their meals and then headed back to the spa for the night, sneaking past the concierge with a few contraband items.

The next morning, Luke came downstairs to find three teenagers sprawled out on the floor on air beds and Jess snoring away on the couch. He noticed that Paris was in between Rory and Tristan and he wondered if that had been deliberate. He headed to the kitchen to make a start on breakfast for them all.

Tristan woke up early too and he heard movement in the kitchen. He slowly got up and went to the kitchen to check it out and to start the coffee machine for his 'princess-coffee' who was still dead to the world. He spotted Luke over the stove and suddenly he felt a bit nervous. Luke looked up and saw him. "Oh hey, I didn't realise you were up. I didn't wake you, did I?" He asked.

"No, it's fine. I normally wake up early. Is it alright if I start the coffee" Tristan said.

Luke nodded. He didn't really know what to say so he went back to cooking. He saw out of the corner of his eye that Tristan was hesitating to talk to him.

"Um Luke?" Tristan eventually said breaking the awkward silence.

"Yeah?" Luke said.

"I just want you to know….uh…that I'm not going to hurt Rory. I know how much she means to you. I just want you to know that she means so much to me as well." Tristan said awkwardly. "I know you see her like your daughter and I really respect that and I respect you too. The things Rory has said about you… well… she pretty much sees you as her father. I just…I need you not to hate me because if you hate me, I don't have a shot in hell in a future with Rory."

Luke sighed. "I don't hate you." He said. "Actually I think you're a pretty decent guy. The way you supported Rory when Lorelai was in hospital was really admirable. I overstepped the mark before and I know I upset Rory and I know she probably told you about it…."

"Yeah…" Tristan admitted.

"I do trust you both and I trust that you really care about her. I just get a bit overprotective sometimes which is silly because she's not even my daughter…" He said.

"Not biological but you mean a lot to her. She told me." Tristan said. "She likes that you care so much about her that you threaten her boyfriends." He joked.

Luke smirked a little. "Yeah well who else is going to do it?"

Tristan smirked. "Anyway I just wanted you to know that I respect you and all that you've done for Rory. I don't want you to think that I don't."

Luke nodded. "You're a good guy, Tristan. Rory's lucky to have found you."

"Thanks." Tristan said slightly surprised.

"But you hurt her and I will kill you." He smirked a little.

"Duly noted." Tristan replied.

Suddenly they heard the front door open and Tristan saw Luke immediately smile when they heard Lorelai's voice. "Honey I'm home!" She called.

"In here!" Luke called.

Lorelai went through the living room, seeing the teenagers sprawled on the floor and couch before heading into the kitchen. "Ok why are there three teenagers asleep in the living room? And one standing in my kitchen in Jess's clothes" She asked coming in once she spotted Tristan, She smiled at teen "Hey Tristan".

"Hi." Tristan said.

"They had a bit of a slumber party last night. They decided it would be easier to just camp out in the living room." Luke explained.

"You had a party without me?" Lorelai pouted.

"No, they had a slumber party. I went to bed." Luke said.

"Aww Grandpa, you couldn't keep up with them?" Lorelai joked, grinning. She went and put her arms round him and gave him a kiss.

"I'll just go see if they're awake yet." Tristan said taking it as his cue to leave.

"Miss me?" Lorelai smiled up at her fiancé.

"Just a little, though I did like not being kicked in the night." Luke smirked at her feigned shocked reaction and leant in giving her a more passionate kiss. "Did you have a good time?" He asked.

"Actually, yeah." Lorelai said. "It was really nice. We only fought once and that was over stealing the bath robes."

"The bath robes?" Luke asked confused.

"Don't ask. It was a mother daughter bonding thing." Lorelai said.

"Ok…" Luke chuckled. "So you two got along?"

"Yeah, why did you expect her to be in the trunk of limo when I got back?" Lorelai smiled. He saw Luke smirking. "Oh alright, you can say it. You can say you told me so." She rolled her eyes.

"I told you so." He jested.

Lorelai grunted that he was right. "So what were you and Tristan talking about?" She asked. "Were you talking about manly things? Or just avoiding talk completely whilst scratching your buts." She grinned, teasing him.

Luke rolled his eyes. "No. We were just talking really."

"And?" Lorelai pushed on.

"And what?" Luke asked.

"Luke!" Lorelai exclaimed.

Luke chuckled. "It's true. We just talked. We're good." He said.

"You are?" Lorelai raised her eyebrows.

"He's a decent guy. Rory's done well finding him." Luke said.

"Luke Danes!" Lorelai exclaimed in mock horror. "You're engaged and you're crushing on your soon to be stepdaughter's boyfriend. Despicable!"

"Ah geez, will you stop it?" He grunted. "They'll hear you."

"Aw you want it to be a secret?" Lorelai enjoyed teasing him.

"Lorelai!"

Lorelai grinned and put her arms round his waist again. "Sorry. Teasing over."

"Thank you." Luke said gruffly.

"I missed you too, by the way." Lorelai said softly.

Luke smiled and kissed her again. "You hungry?"

"You really have to ask that?" Lorelai asked.

"My mistake." Luke said. "Take a seat and I'll plate this up, oh and Tristan made the coffee, just thought I'd let you know if you started to think I was losing my touch."

"Heaven help us the day that happens."

* * *

 **Hope it was worth the wait (doubt it) for those still reading**

 **Review Review Review**


	31. Chapter 31

_Hey! So I am so so so so so unbelievably sorry for the months of waiting not that I am positive anyone would be waiting anyway. I could go into detail of why the wait but its not worth reading, lets just say life hasn't been great, for months I can barely find the need or want to get out of bed, or even live... let alone try and write this thing... because depression is a bitch. (Oh also I spent sometime selling, packing and moving house)_

 _But nevertheless here is chapter 31, I have no idea if its to my usual standard, I just thought I really needed to sort my shit out and post something._

* * *

 _ **Previously:**_

 _ **(occurring around episode 2x16 "There's a rub" Lorelai just came back form her spa weekend with Emily.)**_

" **I missed you too, by the way." Lorelai said softly.**

 **Luke smiled and kissed her again. "You hungry?"**

" **You really have to ask that?" Lorelai asked.**

" **My mistake." Luke said. "Take a seat and I'll plate this up, oh and Tristan made the coffee, just thought I'd let you know if you started to think I was losing my touch."**

" **Heaven help us the day that happens."**

* * *

"So you really had a nice time then?" Luke asked as he was plating up the pancakes.

"Yeah, I really did." Lorelai smiled. "We had a nice talk, and we even talked a bit about wedding ideas."

"Really?" Luke asked surprised.

"Really!" Lorelai exclaimed. "I know it's hard to believe, but it was good, I mean no decisions were made definite. I wanted to talk to you first but mom was interested so I let her know some of my ideas, and knowing her she probably wouldn't have stopped hinting at things so I just went with it, I know you want to be included so I made sure she was to restrain herself from making her calls." Lorelai informed.

"No, it's fine. I'm glad you two got along." Luke smiled. "So you have ideas already?"

Lorelai smirked. "Yeah of course I'm a female, wedding ideas are implanted into our brains while we're still in the womb." She stated whilst taking her seat at the table.

"Well do share."

"Uh… well, first, I'd like to have it at the inn, I think. It means a lot to me and Rory, and it means Sookie can cater as well which is a bonus."

Luke nodded. "Sounds like a plan. It's nice there."

"Really?" Lorelai grinned.

"As you said, it means a lot to you. It's the ideal place, I mean I've spent my fair share of time there since I was kid, and not that Sookie catering isn't a bonus but I think the real bonus is that you could probably swing some perks with that good looking manager they have over there" Luke smirked.

Lorelai gasped with this sudden realization. "Hey, that is true! I bet she could get us the honeymoon suite for a good deal, I think I'll just flutter the eyelashes and wear a low cut top because I hear she's easy like that… I mean that's what the rumours are anyway."

"Lorelai…" Luke warned.

"What!? I'm pretty sure I've heard people say that in the past."

"Doesn't mean it's true" he sympathized and gave her a kiss on her head. Knowing some remarks Lorelai had received over the years for having a daughter so young. Luke knew those people sometimes got to Lorelai even if she did play it off with her humour and infectious attitude for life.

"Food's ready!" He called through to the living room as he placed the plate of pancakes on the kitchen table.

The four teenagers came through and Rory hugged Lorelai. "Hey mom! How was it?"

"It was suprisingly good. Your Grandma and I stole our bathrobes!" Lorelai grinned

"You're kidding? Grandma stole a bathrobe?" Rory laughed.

"Yep, it was a bonding activity."

Rory laughed. "Well you do have a unique relationship but wow, I never thought Grandma would voluntarily steal anything."

"Anyway, enough about me, did you guys have a nice night? I hear you had a slumber party." Lorelai said.

"Yeah it was fun. We watched Casablanca." Rory stated.

"You watched Casablanca without me?" Lorelai said in mock horror.

Rory rolled her eyes. "Sorry. Tristan had never seen it."

"I'm sorry, what? You're going out with someone who had never seen Casablanca since yesterday?" Lorelai joked.

"Yeah I know. I did consider breaking up with him but then I thought it would be easier to just watch it with him." Rory said, playing along.

"Uh I am here, you know." Tristan said.

Rory grinned at him. "You know I love you really."

"It sure feels like it." He joked.

Rory turned to her mom. "Besides, Luke had never seen it until you showed it to him."

"True." Lorelai nodded. "But Luke was different. He'd literally not seen any movies at all, he was practically a hermit."

Luke rolled his eyes and turned to Tristan. "I feel your pain." He said.

Tristan smirked.

Rory and Lorelai laughed and they all tucked into their food.

* * *

After they'd all had finished breakfast, Lorelai stood up. "I need to get to the inn. I have something to tell Sookie." She smiled, looking down at her ring lovingly.

Luke smiled, knowing what she meant. "Sure. Tell her to tell Jackson. That way, it will be around town by the afternoon." He smirked.

"How romantic!" Lorelai said. "You really want to announce our engagement to the town through Jackson?" She raised her eyebrows.

"Uh oh…" Jess smirked. "Someone's in trouble."

"You, can shut up." Luke said giving his nephew a pointed stare. He turned to Lorelai. "How would you like to announce it then? And please don't say at a town meeting!" He said.

Lorelai had to smirk at that, imagining Luke's horror at being the centre of attention at a town meeting. "Nah I was thinking maybe I could flash the ring around a bit at the diner." She said. "Babette or Patty are sure to spot it, I mean the light bouncing off this baby should get their attention and you better prepare yourself mister."

"Fine." Luke said. "See you at the diner after you finish at the inn?" He asked.

"I'll be there." Lorelai smiled. She gave him a kiss. "See you later, hon."

"See you later." Luke smiled and watched her leave. He then turned to Jess. "Come on you, we should get to the diner."

Jess groaned. "Don't I get a day off ever? This must be against child labour rules. I'm at school all week and then have to work at the diner in the weekend."

"Quit complaining. How else are you going to earn money? ...Actually don't answer that." Luke said.

Jess smirked, the boy was from New York, he knew some things, and his uncle also knew he knew somethings.

"Come on, we're late already." He said.

"Alright, alright, I'm coming!" Jess exclaimed getting up. He turned to Paris. "It was nice to meet you. I guess I'll see you around." He said.

"Yeah you too." Paris said.

Jess and Luke then left for the diner.

"And then there were three." Tristan said.

"Actually, I should probably get going." Paris announced. "I should get back home. I've got some more studying to do."

"You can study here if you like?" Rory offered.

"No it's ok. Thanks though. And thanks for last night. It was fun." Paris smiled.

"Sure. See you at school then."

"Yeah bye." Paris said before leaving.

"And then there were two. You're not leaving as well are you?" Rory joked.

"Nope. Got nothing to do today so I guess I can stay for a bit." He smirked.

"Wow, now I feel special." Rory said sarcastically.

Tristan laughed and leaned in to kiss her. "You know there's nowhere else I'd rather be." He said sincerely.

Rory smiled. "Good. Or else I'd have to get Luke to kill you." She joked.

Tristan chuckled. "I had a talk with Luke this morning." He admitted.

"You did?" Rory asked surprised. "When?"

"When you were still sleeping. Just before your mom got back." He said.

"And?" Rory asked hesitantly.

"I think we're good. I told him I respect him and that I wasn't going to hurt you." Tristan said.

"And?"

"He told me he thought I was a pretty decent guy." Tristan smiled.

"High praise indeed." Rory smiled.

"Yeah but then he did tell me he'd have to kill me if I hurt you." He smirked.

"That sounds like Luke." Rory grinned leaning in to give him another kiss. She then gave him a genuine smile. "I'm glad you're getting on though. It means a lot to me."

Tristan nodded. "Luke's a good guy. I want his approval."

Rory smiled. "So what do you fancy doing today? We could go for a walk or just have a relaxing day in."

"Walk sounds good." Tristan said.

"Cool, let's go." Rory said.

* * *

Lorelai walked into the diner after her shift at the inn to find herself surrounded by all the townspeople. Even though she went against Luke's plan to tell Jackson and let it spread quickly, it happened naturally anyway, especially when she showed the ring to Sookie. She received an ear piercing squeal followed by a huge bear hug from her best friend, thankfully Lorelai did manage to coax the knife out of her hand before she told Sookie, knowing any disaster could have happened with such a weapon.

"Is it true sugah?" Babette asked.

"Yeah is it finally happening?" Patty asked.

Lorelai looked up at Luke in surprise. "How? Jackson doesn't do deliveries today so…" She asked confused.

"Long story." Luke sighed. "I didn't tell them."

"So who?"

"Apparently Kirk caught sight of the ring while he was at the inn this morning and then he told Andrew, who told Gypsy, who told Patty, who told Babette, who then rushed in here to confirm it before East side Tilly got the scoop. I've been trying to ward off questions all afternoon." Luke said.

"So… Are ya' finally gettin' hitched?" Babette asked again.

Lorelai looked round at all the excited faces and had to smile. "Yeah it's true. Luke proposed during the week and I said yes. We're getting married." She said glancing at Luke who smiled at her.

"Oh my god, this is so exciting! You two so deserve this! This wedding is going to be the talk of the town!" Babette exclaimed.

"Congratulations!" Patty bellowed. "You finally found the balls to do then eh Luke?" Patty joked.

Luke rolled his eyes. "Yeah Patty, that's exactly what I did."

Lorelai smirked. "Oh yeah, and then he shared them with me afterwards." She told them which caused an outburst of cackles.

"Ah geez Lorelai!" Luke exclaimed. "Right I'm going to make you some food. Tell me when you've stopped telling them personal details about our relationship."

"Wait!" Lorelai said rushing towards him.

"What?" He asked turning round.

Lorelai then gave him a tender kiss. "I love you." She smiled.

Luke softened at that. "I love you too." He then headed to the kitchen, turning back before he went in to find Lorelai surrounded by the townspeople again. He couldn't help but smile when he heard Lorelai happily start to tell them how he proposed with a beaming smile on her face.

* * *

The week went relatively quickly. Lorelai and Luke found themselves busy at the inn and the diner and less time letting in the fact they were engaged sink in completely.

Soon it was Friday and they were on their way to the Gilmores for their weekly dinner. Jess had made a compelling excuse and stayed home as he had been dragged into helping in the plans for a surprise engagement party the town were holding for Luke and Lorelai. He made the excuse that he had to study added to the fact that Emily and Richard hadn't actually invited him. Luke had given him a hard time but luckily Lorelai was on his side saying that he can meet them another time. Jess knew he would meet them at the engagement party anyway because he knew Sookie had invited them.

The maid greeted the trio and let Luke, Lorelai and Rory in and they went through to the living room where they were greeted by Emily and Richard.

"Hi mom, dad!" Lorelai smiled.

"Hello Lorelai." Emily smiled. "Someone's in a good mood."

Lorelai shrugged. "Why wouldn't I be?" She said giving Luke a grin.

"Grandma does have a point, you are particularly happy today, mom." Rory agreed.

"Well life's pretty great at the moment." Lorelai said.

Rory smiled, glad to see her mom so happy especially after the eventful year they had experienced.

"So tell me about your wedding plans. Have you made any decisions yet?" Emily asked eagerly.

"Emily…" Richard warned.

"A few." Lorelai said. "We've decided to definitely do it at the inn. I've asked Sookie about catering as well and she said yes."

"Like she would say no!" Rory laughed. "You're going to have a hard time keeping her out of the kitchen on the actual day!"

"Nah I told her that she could be the caterer on condition that she does not set foot in that kitchen on the day. I specifically told her I needed my bridesmaid by my side." Lorelai grinned.

"Very harsh." Luke smirked.

"Sookie's your bridesmaid?" Emily asked. "I would have assumed she would be your maid of honour."

"No that's Rory." Lorelai said smiling across at her daughter.

"Of course." Emily said softly, kicking herself for not even thinking about that.

"Have you decided on your best man, Luke?" Richard asked.

"Yeah. I haven't asked him yet but I think I'm going to ask Jess." Luke said.

"Aw hon, he'll be honoured." Lorelai smiled.

"You think he'll say yes?" Luke asked.

Rory laughed. "I know he acts all grumpy and monosyllabic like you, Luke, but he thinks a lot of you. He'll say yes." She said.

"I hope so." Luke said.

"And will you have a groomsman with you? To keep the alter balanced?" Emily asked

"Yeah I was thinking of asking Buddy, he's been like an uncle to me, known me all my life and helped me so much since my dad died, hopefully he will be ok with it."

"Oh hon having met Buddy, I think you won't have a choice, he'd be up there next to you even if you didn't ask" Lorelai stated

"Yeah I guess so, I was also thinking about asking Tristan to be an usher." He admitted.

"What, really?" Rory asked surprised.

"Yeah, well I've got Jackson and I really don't want to have to ask Kirk." He said.

"You know you will though." Lorelai grinned.

"And risk disaster, I don't think so."

"Maybe he can be Grans escort, I'm sure Lorelai the first will make him behave by keeping him on her short leash for the day"

Luke rolled his eyes. "From what you've told me about your grandmother the guy will be traumatised, he still lives with his mother and he's in his 30's for peats sake. Anyway, back to Tristan, I thought that might mean that Tristan could walk Rory down the aisle. I know traditionally the best man walks the maid of honour down the aisle but I'm sure Jess won't mind." He said.

Rory smiled, happy that Luke had thought about Tristan. "He'll be touched. Thanks Luke." She said.

Luke gave her a small smile and then felt a hand on his knee and he looked across to see Lorelai giving him a loving look.

They all then went through for their dinner and ended up having an enjoyable evening.

* * *

The following day, everyone in the town was secretly getting ready for the engagement party that evening. Rory and Jess had been told to distract both Luke and Lorelai so Rory was at the inn making sure Lorelai stayed there and Jess had managed to persuade Luke to stay at home and he would help him go through some paperwork with him. As they were doing that at the kitchen table, Luke looked up at his nephew and knew he had to ask him sometime. He had been putting it off because he was worried he'd say no. "Hey Jess?" He said.

"Yeah?" Jess said looking up.

"You know uh how we're planning the wedding at the moment…" He started.

"Uh yeah…" Jess smirked. "I was assuming since you're engaged that you'd be planning a wedding."

Luke took a breath. _Why was this so hard?_ "Will you be my best man?" He blurted out.

The smirk vanished from Jess's face. "What?" He asked surprised.

"Will you be my best man?" Luke repeated, slowly this time. "I mean, normally grooms have a best man and you're family and you mean a lot to me." He said nervously. "I would really like it if you were standing up there with me."

Jess looked across at his uncle and saw that he was being genuine. He had to admit he was touched to be asked. He just assumed he'd ask Jackson. "Uh yeah ok..." He said.

"Yeah? Really?" Luke said relieved and happy. "Good. That's good. Thanks." He said.

Jess gave him a small smile. "Uh no problem, thanks for asking." He said.

* * *

That evening, Rory and Jess were walking with Luke and Lorelai towards the square.

"Why did we all need to come to pick a movie? Surely it only needs one of us, plus we already have lots at home." Luke said.

"Because we want one that everyone will like. You're very picky with movies." Rory said.

"I am not picky." Luke admonished.

"You are." Lorelai nodded, taking Rory's side.

"This is just a ruse to get me to buy you two all the junk food crap you normally eat." He said.

"Maybe." Rory grinned.

"Or maybe not." Jess smirked as they reached the square and they saw everyone by the gazebo.

"What the…" Lorelai said stunned. There was a buffet, music playing and two huge thrones surrounded with presents with a banner hanging from the gazebo saying 'Happy Engagement Luke and Lorelai'. She turned to Rory and Jess. "Did you two do this?"

"It was a town effort." Rory smiled. "Do you like it?"

"Like it? It's amazing." Lorelai said touched.

"You didn't need to do this." Luke said equally stunned.

"Well everyone wanted to celebrate the fact that you're getting married." Rory smiled.

Lorelai hugged her daughter. "Thank you. You're the best." She said sincerely as the four of them walked over to where the party was.

They spotted Emily and Richard standing at the side so went up to them first. "I can't believe you were in on this too." Lorelai exclaimed.

"Sookie called us." Emily said.

"It's quite a party." Richard smiled. "We wouldn't miss it for anything."

"I'm glad you're here." Lorelai said softly. "Oh mom, dad, this is Jess. Luke's nephew. He's living with us."

"Nice to meet you." Richard said holding out his hand.

Jess shook it. "Uh yeah you too." He said.

"It's lovely to meet you." Emily nodded at him.

Jess just nodded. "You too."

Later that evening, after opening the presents which according to Luke had all been for Lorelai, the music came on and Eternal Flame started playing. Luke held out his hand to Lorelai. "Care to dance?" He asked.

Lorelai smiled and took hold of his hand. "Sure." She said as Luke led her to the dancefloor and they slowly started waltzing around.

Rory and Jess were sat at a table watching them. "They look happy." Rory smiled.

"Well I would hope they would be considering what it took to get them here." Jess joked.

Rory rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean. It's just…nice." She said. "Especially after the year they've had." She added quietly.

"Yeah." Jess said. "Sorry, Luke told me about everything. It must have been tough."

Rory nodded. "Yeah it was but they've come through it." She smiled.

"Hey Mary." Tristan said coming up to the table.

"Tristan, you made it!" Rory smiled getting up to give him a hug and a kiss.

"Of course I did. I couldn't miss this." Tristan said.

Rory grinned.

Tristan saw other couples join Luke and Lorelai dancing and held out his hand to Rory. "Want to dance?" He asked.

"Oh… uh…" She said looking at Jess, feeling bad about leaving him by himself.

"Go ahead, don't mind me." Jess said.

"You sure?" Rory asked.

"I'm sure. Go." Jess said, then subtly took out a book he had stuffed in his pocket.

Rory smiled and took hold of Tristan's hand. "Lead the way."

Meanwhile, Luke and Lorelai were in their own little world when Lorelai saw Rory and Tristan join the other couples on the dancefloor. "She looks happy, doesn't she?" Lorelai said.

Luke glanced around and saw who Lorelai was talking about. "Yeah she does."

Lorelai looked back at Luke. "Thank you." She said sincerely.

"For what?"

"For everything, For including Tristan in the wedding. It meant a lot to Rory." Lorelai smiled.

"Yeah well, he's a good guy. He makes Rory happy." Luke said.

"He is a good guy, isn't he?" Lorelai smiled looking over at the young couple as well.

"Yeah well a part of me thinks it is due to Rory, I think she's a good influence on him."

"You might be right about that babe, I'm glad Rory found someone like him. Someone who treats her right. Maybe one day they'll end up like us. Maybe this will be their engagement party someday in the future."

"Ok one step at the time. I've just started to accept Tristan. Can we not talk about Rory getting married yet please?" Luke said.

Lorelai grinned and kissed him. "Sorry I forget you still see her as the little girl who fell off her bike in front of the diner and scraped her knees." She said.

"Apology accepted, but yes she will always be that little girl." He smirked, kissing her back. They swayed to the music for a while just enjoying each other's embrace, until Lorelai spoke once again.

"How about June 3rd?" Lorelai said.

"June 3rd?" Luke asked.

"For our wedding." Lorelai said. "I've looked and the inn is free then."

"That's only two months away." Luke said.

"I know. I know it's soon but I don't want to wait. I want to marry you. I'd do it tomorrow if I could but I know that wouldn't be practical, nor would my mother approve. I just... I don't want to wait anymore. Life's too short. I think we both know that by now" She said quietly.

Luke knew she was thinking about the year they'd had. "June 3rd sounds good." He said softly.

"Really?" Lorelai said looking up at him.

"The sooner I'm married to you, the better." He smiled.

Lorelai smiled and leaned in to give him a tender kiss. "I love you so much."

"I love you too." Luke replied softly.

* * *

 **SO there you guys have it. Not that I deserve it... but please review.**

 **Also if you do like reading my stuff, I co-wrote a story called Lost and Found (But not the sequels) that you can find on Eliza's page (Elang4)**


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